Ericom Announces Industry-First Virtual Meeting Isolation Solution

Patent-Pending Cloud Service Addresses Key Security Issues That Prevent Many Organizations from Adopting Essential Virtual Meeting Solutions

NEW YORK – April 28, 2021 – Ericom Software, a leader in cloud cybersecurity solutions for secure web and application access, today announced Virtual Meeting Isolation, an innovative new solution that brings the security benefits of remote browser isolation (RBI) to virtual meetings where participants attend using their web browsers, without affecting their user experience. Virtual Meeting Isolation overcomes traditional RBI limitations that make the technology unusable for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and similar applications. Specifically, during usual RBI-isolated sessions, users' local device resources, such as cameras and microphones, cannot be accessed and local applications like Microsoft PowerPoint cannot be shared. With this breakthrough, organizations using the Ericom RBI cloud service to protect their users from web-based threats can extend those protections to the web portals of team collaboration tools, enabling full, high-performance meeting functionality while protecting their organizations from cyber threats. This innovative, patent-pending technology makes Ericom the only vendor able to deliver virtual meeting capabilities using RBI.

Background
During COVID-19 pandemic-related office closures, virtual meeting solutions have allowed remote workers to remain connected and productive. As a result, their use has grown exponentially and is likely to remain robust, since distributed work environments are projected to continue even once pandemic restrictions are lifted. Virtual meeting technologies, however, also present security risks, since JavaScript, HTML, and other conferencing web portal code may hide malware that can compromise endpoint browsers and from there, move laterally within organization networks. In addition, IP addresses of corporate devices may be revealed to the internet, exposing potential attack surfaces to cyber criminals.

To address these types of issues, some virtual meeting solution vendors provide native endpoint clients. But many security-conscious organizations don't permit these sorts of clients on users' devices since they introduce their own unique security concerns. As a result, many organizations have been unable to benefit from the cost, convenience, and productivity benefits made possible by popular virtual meeting tools.

Innovative RBI-based Solution
RBI is a rapidly growing web security technology that prevents web-based malware and phishing attacks from reaching endpoints by executing web content in a remote, isolated cloud-based container. No malware from risky sites, even sophisticated zero-days, can infect a device; only safe-rendering information from the cloud container is sent to the local device browser, providing the user with a fully interactive, natural website experience.

Security issues associated with virtual meeting solutions are frequently raised by organizations in regulated sectors like defense, government, financial services, and healthcare. In response to these concerns, Ericom pioneered innovative web rendering approaches to create a patent-pending, first-of-its-kind solution. Virtual Meeting Isolation leverages the powerful security benefits of RBI technology to support must-have online meeting features like camera and microphone use as well as sharing of local endpoint screens, all while ensuring that no virtual meeting solution code runs on users' local web browsers and that IP addresses remain private. Moreover, users can securely access Virtual Meeting Isolation from their devices via the Ericom RBI Cloud Service. Complementary security capabilities that virtual meeting solutions offer natively, such as multi-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption, are fully compatible with Ericom Virtual Meeting Isolation.

How it Works – Zoom Example
Once Ericom Virtual Meeting Isolation is enabled on their organization's Ericom RBI cloud service, a user can initiate a meeting or join a meeting by navigating to the Zoom website or join by clicking a link in a meeting invitation. Once they enter the meeting, the user has the standard Zoom experience: they can choose any participant view, mute or enable audio, and share their screen.

With Ericom Virtual Meeting Isolation, content from participants' Zoom web portal is sent to the remote isolated environment, where virtual devices (audio, webcam, and a screen) operate inside the lightweight Linux container. Only safe content (audio and video) is streamed from these virtual devices in the isolated remote Zoom environment to the local browser. The same is used for sharing local screens or applications like PowerPoint--they are rendered in an isolated session and safely streamed to the other participant's devices. No actual content from the Zoom website or shared applications ever reaches endpoint devices. Individuals using Virtual Meeting Isolation can seamlessly participate in meetings with users attending via un-isolated web access or virtual meeting clients, with no impact on solution functionality or performance for any participants.

"This innovative solution is just another example of the creativity and intellectual curiosity of the team we have at Ericom," said David Canellos, Chief Executive Officer at Ericom. "This was a big problem in search of a solution, and the Virtual Meeting Isolation solution developed by our R&D group will be a true difference-maker for our customers around the globe. Security-conscious organizations have struggled with costly, productivity-limiting virtual meeting workarounds for over a year, because essential tools like Zoom and Teams were off-limits due to corporate security policies. With Ericom Virtual Meeting Isolation, these organizations will be able to benefit from the virtual meeting solutions that have become an important part of everyday business life."

Watch this short demonstration to see Ericom Virtual Meeting Isolation in action.

Read more about Ericom Remote Browser Isolation here.

About Ericom Software
Ericom Software is a leading provider of Zero Trust cybersecurity solutions that protect organizations from advanced security threats. Leveraging innovative browser and application isolation technologies, Ericom's cloud-delivered security solutions enable simple, secure policy-driven access to mission-critical applications and resources, including the web, without impacting end-user productivity.

Ericom's platform of browser isolation, remote access, secure connectivity, mobility, and virtualization technologies enhance cybersecurity and productivity while reducing cost and complexity for tens of thousands of businesses and millions of end users worldwide. The company has offices in the US, UK, and EMEA, and a global network of distributors and partners.

For more information about Ericom and its products, visit www.ericom.com. You can also follow Ericom Software on our blog, as well as on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.