As the COVID-19 pandemic marches on, its repercussions continue to impact our society at all levels — from the way we do business to the way we interact with one another on a personal or group level.

Social distancing is now the norm, meaning that organizations that typically hold meetings, gatherings, or events of any kind must find ways to incorporate a 6 foot distance between all attendees — or find other ways to meet safely.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines as well as federal, state, and local regulations have put limits and rules on gathering sizes, so in some areas, even groups with the facilities to handle social distancing must rethink ways to meet.

For community groups such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Elks Lodges, yacht clubs, and others that rely on member engagement to remain functional, these new policies can take a real toll on operations — and sometimes even funding.

To cope, many clubs have discovered innovative ways to keep members engaged, informed, and safe.

Using Tools Like VoIP, Video Conferencing, and More to Help Members Connect

At the basis of every social club is the need to congregate, share information, and work together on mutually beneficial projects and tasks.

The Club Management Association of America (CMAA) has taken an in-depth interest in how clubs are navigating the post-COVID landscape. Their survey of clubs from yacht clubs to homeowner’s associations showed that, while some clubs are open with reduced operations, many have completely closed their brick-and-mortar facilities for safety reasons.

Almost half of the clubs surveyed are choosing to connect with their members virtually to conduct committee meetings, online fitness programs, webinars, and even scavenger hunts in a move to find creative ways of engagement.

Unfortunately, the proliferation of virtual video connectivity has created a desirable target for hackers, who have used low-security video conferencing applications to wreak havoc.

Zoombombing, Or the Problem with Non Secure Video Chat Applications

The last thing a club meeting in a virtual environment needs is the interference of hackers.

Known as “zoombombing” for its initial emergence on the free video chat platform, Zoom, these interruptions can range from the silly — such as Britney Spears music suddenly playing — or the downright frightening, such as threats against a speaker’s life or person.

Worse yet, hackers can remain undetected in the background, eavesdropping on sensitive conversations and then stealing or sharing information.

Fortunately, there are easy, low-cost solutions available that can make your club’s virtual experiences much safer.

Using VoIP and Comprehensive Teleconferencing System for Ease — and Protection

The trouble with Zoom and similar virtual meeting applications is the critical vulnerabilities in their video conferencing architecture implementations.

The best defense against hackers who target these vulnerabilities is to put your video conferencing platform behind a firewall to eliminate unauthorized access to this infrastructure — and restrict access to your organization’s other assets in the event the infrastructure is compromised.

Better still?

Choose a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telecommunications system for your video conferencing needs. While there is no guarantee that hackers won’t gain access, VoIP provides a high level of telecommunications privacy and security, including:

● Higher privacy default settings

● Multi-factor authentication

● Robust access control

● End-to-end data encryption

● Randomly generated meeting identification tags

● The ability to lock meeting entry

● Password protected private meetings

These features ensure that your club can conduct teleconferences for meetings, fundraisers, and other events with less worry about being targeted by hackers. And that means your members can get the full benefit of feeling connected, without the worry — or embarrassment — of disruption.

Let Blue Technologies Help Your Club Meet Safely

At Blue Technologies, we have partnered with Cisco, and industry-leading company in VoIP telecommunications and cyber-safety to bring you a cost-effective, highly secure video conferencing solution for your club or organization.

Our team of IT experts can assess your organization’s video conferencing needs and analyze your business goals and your security concerns to create a custom-tailored telecommunications system that will help your members stay connected throughout the COVID-19 crisis — and beyond.

Help your members stay connected safely. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant today and discover how simple it is to get started with secure, cost-effective VoIP telecommunications for your next virtual meeting.