Security in TrueConf Server: How we protect user data

When holding corporate video conferencing, privacy is an essential factor. Intruders should be prevented from accessing data even in case they manage to invade a company’s internal network.

We take the privacy of our customers’ conferences seriously.

TrueConf Server offers multiple levels of security, ranging from basic to cryptographically secure. It uses encryption technologies, modern authentication methods, and server-level access settings for each conference or for general communication features.

Level 1. Administrative settings

Unregistered users cannot connect to the TrueConf video conferencing system without your consent. User authorization data is either specified by the server administrator individually for each user or imported from the directory service via LDAP (Active Directory, OpenLDAP, FreeIPA and so forth).

TrueConf does not store users’ passwords in an unencrypted form in any of its solutions. Cryptographic hash functions are used for authorization.

The administrator can configure additional settings to increase access security:

• Activate two-factor authorization (2FA)

• Use single sign-on (SSO) technology when integrating with directory services via LDAP

• Select authentication methods depending on the network from which users are trying to log in: external network or trusted (corporate) network

• Configure various options (for example, restrict file transfer) for users depending on the network they are authenticated from: external network or trusted (corporate) network

• At any time, you can both log out a user from TrueConf on all authenticated devices and completely deactivate the account.

• Restrict the lifetime of authorization session keys to make sure that users have to sign in with their password if they want to continue working with the system (this precaution may be helpful in some cases when users forget to lock their PCs)

• Set password strength requirements (when creating user accounts manually in Registry mode)

• Configure account lockout policy if a user enters an incorrect password multiple times (also available when running the server in integration with an LDAP directory)

• Restrict permissions for certain user groups, for example, prohibit accountants from sharing content, while granting operator privileges to the IT department so they can assist colleagues during conferences.

• Select the content that will be sent in push notifications to mobile devices

• Restrict permissions specifically for external users, i.e., the users, who have an account on a federated server (more details on how to use federation for external chats are provided below)

• Restrict permissions specifically for external users, i.e., the users, who have an account on a federated server

• Prohibit the use of specific application versions on certain operating systems.

To hold public conferences (e.g., webinars), you can provide unauthorized users with guest access (participation parameters can be finetuned). You will be able to:

• Restrict guest permissions at the conference level

• Activate mandatory registration for the webinar

• Restrict the features available to guest users (restrictions will apply to all conferences).

Level 2. Unique chats for different sessions

If you escalate a group chat into a conference multiple times, each conference will be a new event with its own ID. This means that the participant list may vary, and not all users from the chat need to be included. To confidentially discuss certain matters with a limited group, you can create a unique chat for each conference. In this way, you can make sure that the conversation remains private and is not visible to other group chat members. By default, the chat remains shared for the sake of convenience (i.e., the original chat), and to create a new confidential chat for a conference, you need to unlink it as shown in the application documentation.

Level 3. Proprietary video codec

To encode video streams, we use our own implementation of VP8 video codec with advanced SVC support. Eventually, even if a video stream is seized (which is also almost impossible – see the following sections), intruders cannot decode video by standard means.

Level 4. Single port operation

Only 4307 TCP port is used for transmitting media streams and signal data between TrueConf applications and TrueConf Server over TrueConf protocol. Traffic is encrypted using TLS and AES-256.

If you are not planning to use third-party protocols (WebRTC, SIP, H.323, RTSP or RTMP), you can close all ports except for 4307 and 443 (used for secure HTTPS connection) on your networking equipment. This will guarantee total safety of your video conferencing system on a hardware level.

We urge you to configure HTTPS immediately after installation, as it affects users' ability to access their personal area and use several application features, such as conference scheduling, working with surveys, transcripts, etc.

Level 5. Administration access control in the video conferencing server

You can allow access to the control panel at different levels:

• Only from the computers in the local network

• Specify the range of IP addresses from which one can access the control panel

• Select user accounts in the OS where TrueConf Server is installed

• Specify access level for each TrueConf Server administrator: full access or only the right to view reports and video recordings of conferences.

These safeguards will ensure that outsiders cannot access the control panel.

Level 6. Control data encryption

Our protocol for transmitting signals regulating data exchange is encapsulated within a well-established transport layer security protocol (TLS 1.3), a more modern version of SSL protocol. This protocol is also used for connection security via SIP and WebRTC third-party protocols. They are used for connection with browsers and video conferencing endpoints via TrueConf Server multiprotocol gateway.

When setting up integration with directory services, one can use the secure LDAPS protocol with a TLS certificate.

Level 7. Media data encryption

TrueConf Server employs the AES-256 algorithm, which uses the maximum key length available, to encrypt media data. Hardware-accelerated AES support is built into all modern Intel, AMD, and ARMv8 processors, significantly enhancing videoconferencing security without compromising performance.

Media data (video, audio, content) transmitted via TrueConf Server gateway are also encrypted, depending on the technology used:

• WebRTC – with DTLS and SRTP protocols and algorithms.

• SIP – with SRTP protocol.

• H.323 – with H.235 protocol.

Level 8. End-to-end encryption using VPN gateways

To make sure that the privacy of communications in your enterprise network segments is protected, you can install software or hardware VPN gateways that provide end-to-end encryption of all corporate traffic over the ports used by TrueConf services. As we’ve mentioned earlier in this post, only two ports are required.

Our support team will be happy to help you configure integration of our software with these systems.

Level 9. Offline operation in your corporate network

Most importantly, when using TrueConf Server, you can fully eliminate the risks related to cloud providers:

• Only your employees have physical access to servers that provide the functionality of video conferencing system services.

• TrueConf Server is stand-alone and doesn’t require an Internet connection so it can be isolated in the local network. So, only your users can access its services.

• You are not dependent on the stability of Internet connection and power supply in the data processing center (you can also order a stand-alone generator to ensure power supply in case of an emergency)

• You take full control over the allocation of hardware resources for the components of TrueConf Server. One can rest assured that these resources are not taken by third-party software solutions.

When using cloud-based and hybrid video conferencing systems, you cannot ensure that:

• The developers of cloud-based services do not have remote access to their servers, reports, parameters of conference participants’ devices, and other sensitive information.

• System administrators who operate data centers of such video conferencing services do not have access to the runtime environment and its file system.

• The employees of these services do not compromise information about your negotiations in order to comply with foreign legislation on the disclosure of user data or to obtain certain certifications.

• Recordings of your negotiations cannot be accessed by any hacker in the Internet who intercepted the login and password to your account.

When using TrueConf Server, you completely eliminate these risks. Only your employees have physical access to the servers that ensure the operation of the video conferencing service. Moreover, TrueConf Server is entirely autonomous and does not require an Internet connection to work, which means that it can be isolated within the corporate (private) network and only your users will have access to its services.

Level 10. Flexible settings of file storage period

To improve data security, a TrueConf Server administrator can configure separate storage period settings for:

• Video recordings of conferences and one-on-one calls

• Files sent by users in private and group chats.

In addition, it is possible to limit the amount of disk space available for storing chat files.

Level 11. Access to API via OAuth 2.0 protocol

TrueConf Server provides a rich set of API tools for a complete integration of your video conferencing system and third-party software. OAuth 2.0 mechanism that is used for this purpose provides a number of advantages:

• Working over the secure HTTPS Protocol.

• Delimiting application access to the API according to the role and configured permissions.

• Application authorization process using a complex short-lived access token without the need to visibly enter a username and password.

Level 12. Regular security updates

We adopt the following practices to make sure that TrueConf Server is fully safeguarded against possible attacks:

• In addition to internal audit, our software is regularly tested for potential vulnerabilities by domestic and foreign customers.

• All detected vulnerabilities are listed in the database of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST (opens new window)).

• As a vendor, we promptly release security updates for all detected vulnerabilities.

Level 13. Encryption support for all stored data

Feel free to use third-party encryption methods because they will not affect the performance of TrueConf Server:

• Hardware encryption of the entire disk

• Software encryption at the level of logical disk partition (e.g., eCryptis for Linux or BitLocker for Windows).

Level 14. Integration with DLP

TrueConf Enterprise is a communications platform for large customers. It supports integration with **DLP systems (Data Leak Prevention)**, specialized software designed to prevent data leaks and comply with security policies adopted in organizations. Thanks to the support for the ICAP protocol, you can configure the verification of messages and files in chats through any DLP system. This will provide an additional layer of security for corporate discussions.

DLP integration settings are closely described in this section of the documentation.

Level 15. Connection of external users via a separate server

If users in your organization often need to communicate with external users in private or group chats, you can deploy a separate server in the DMZ zone of the corporate network. It is possible to set up federation between this server and the main video conferencing server. This approach not only enables communication with users outside your organization but also allows you to flexibly set permissions for external users. For instance, you can restrict file sharing for security purposes. Moreover, placing the server in the DMZ ensures that the main network perimeter of the company is not at risk.

For more details on using the guest server, refer to the relevant article.

Level 16. Traffic protection with the border controller

TrueConf Enterprise is an all-in-one solution that offers a dedicated module called TrueConf Border Controller needed for securing external connections (outside the network). This module can filter traffic from TrueConf client applications, permitting only safe TrueConf and HTTPS protocols to the video conferencing servers. Additionally, it is possible to encrypt traffic with various symmetric algorithms, including PSK (Pre-Shared Key).

More information and workflow diagrams can be found in the solution documentation.

Level 17. Custom push notification service

In the standard scheme of push notifications delivery, an external TrueConf service at the address reg.trueconf.com is used. All notifications are proxied through this service and then sent to a client application on the mobile device, depending on where the application was installed from (more details can be found here).

Such a setup may not be suitable for large clients requiring integration with MDM systems or needing the highest priority for sending push notifications (without going through the general queue at reg.trueconf.com). In this case, TrueConf can provide an on-premises notification server, which will be installed within the customer's infrastructure. It will independently proxy push notifications through notification providers. For more details, your IT security managers can contact TrueConf team in any convenient way. We will answer each of your questions.