Tag Archive for: #reportexyvr

Security & Remote Services Update (Including MS Teams)

MS Teams Videoconferencing Platform

Our technical team has now completed its testing of the MS Teams platform. 

While Teams does offer some of the features that both Zoom and WebEx have (such as sharing documents, unique Meeting ID and password settings and a chat feature), it has no breakout room functionality at this time, rendering it unusable for mediations.  Further, each MS Teams licence has a limit of up to 5 guests per Microsoft account.  This means that, for larger discoveries and hearings, every participant will have to create a Microsoft account in order to access the meeting.

Microsoft Teams’ greatest drawback, however, is the confusing user interface.  It is unintuitive and difficult to navigate compared to Zoom or WebEx.  We anticipate that this will lead to significant delays in proceedings due to increased technical assistance and troubleshooting for clients and counsel, who all bring varying degrees of technical know-how to remote proceedings.

Zoom Videoconferencing Platform – Security Update

Starting May 9, 2020, all meetings conducted with Free or Basic accounts (including previously scheduled meetings, new meetings and meetings started or scheduled using Personal Meeting IDs) will require a password.  Since Reportex password protects all of our meetings, there will be no change to your joining experience for those who use Reportex to facilitate their remote proceedings.

On May 30, 2020, Zoom 5.0 will launch, enabling GCM encryption across the entire Zoom platform, providing increased protection for meeting data.  As part of the Zoom 5.0 upgrade, Zoom will upgrade to Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit GCM encryption, which is a big improvement over its previous 128-bit AES encryption. After May 30, 2020, all Zoom clients using older versions will receive a forced upgrade when trying to join meetings as GCM encryption will be fully enabled across the Zoom platform; in other words, you cannot join meetings after May 30 without upgrading to 5.0.  If you or your client have discoveries or mediations scheduled for May 30, please ensure that you update your Zoom client in advance. 

 Comparing the Zoom, WebEx and MS Teams platforms

FeatureZoom ‘Pro’ LicenceWebEx ‘Free’ LicenceWebEx ‘Training’ LicenceMS Teams
Freshly generated meeting ID and password created for each unique meeting****
Apply a virtual background**
(iOS only)
*
(iOS only)
*
Touch up your appearance*   
‘Waiting Room’ feature (to prevent unauthorized access)****
Mute audio and stop video****
Participants can change their display name after logging in*  *
Host can change participants’ display name after logging in*   
Prevent participants from changing their display name after logging in*   
Lock the meeting to prevent participants from joining after a certain time****
Non-hosts can invite other participants****
Make another participant the host/presenter****
Chat feature****
Disable the chat feature*** 
Breakout rooms* * 
Ability to join a breakout room you are not assigned to    
Leave a breakout room and re-enter the main session area unannounced n/a* 
Show documents or screen within the platform without uploading to US server****
Allow remote control of a document to another participant****
Record feature****

“Having Reportex manage the technical aspects of the virtual mediation was invaluable to me as mediator. Jake, the technical representative, was great, communicated with the parties, arranged all the rooms, gave me a tutorial on moving from room to room and dealt with any and all technical questions the parties had during the day, leaving me free to focus on getting the matter resolved.”
Marina Pratchett (Mediator)

Security & Remote Services Update

Reportex continues to provide secure, user-friendly facilitation of remote services utilizing the Zoom and WebEx platforms.  Next up in our extensive testing by our Systems Team at Reportex is MS Teams.  Upon initial review, Teams does not offer a breakout room feature, so it’s not a solution for mediations; however, it was recently approved for use within the provincial government, so we are testing its suitability for discoveries and hearings. 

There are literally dozens of additional videoconferencing platforms (such as GoToMeeting, Skype for Business, Google Meet, Blue Jeans, etc.), and we will investigate and test these programs for potential use.  If your firm requires you to use a specific platform, please let us know so we can try to accommodate your needs.

At this time there has been no official directive by either the courts, the Law Society or any of the various lawyer associations regarding which platforms are approved by the courts. That said, the court of appeal recently announced that they will be hearing matters via Zoom.  We understand that the BC Supreme Court is currently testing the MS Teams platform as well. 

HELPFUL COVID-19 LINKS:

Court Information

Legal Groups & Associations

General Information

Remote Proceedings: Comparing the Zoom and WebEx Platforms


Remote discoveries and mediations have now become the new normal and as things continue to evolve, so do the tools and platforms available to you. Security, effectiveness and ease are all equally integral and at Reportex, we are continuing to monitor the rapidly changing landscape carefully to provide our clients with the best possible resources and support.

What sets us apart to ensure your security?

In addition to handling all the admin and setup for remote proceedings (including obtaining and managing email addresses for all participants), our Systems Director and qualified technicians are following each new security development in the Zoom and WebEx platforms and are implementing solutions to provide our clients with the highest level of cybersecurity and service quality.  Here are just a few things that we do for every remote proceeding we host:

  • Reportex ALWAYS uses a unique login and password protection for all remote proceedings (including discoveries, mediations and arbitrations). 
  • We ALWAYS enable the ‘waiting room’ feature so that no one can join the meeting without express approval of the Reportex technician.
  • We ALWAYS disable the ‘chat’ feature so that witnesses and other participants cannot use the platform to chat with someone outside the discovery or mediation.
  • We ALWAYS have a dedicated Reportex Technician on hand at all times who is monitoring the platform. The technician can remove non-permitted users from participating or sharing any content with the group and can prevent them from rejoining the meeting.
  • We NEVER double up on setup options, meaning there is always a freshly generated Room ID for each unique proceeding.
  • We NEVER allow people to share documents through the ‘chat’ screen but instead use the ‘share’ function, which is secure.
  • We NEVER use the recording feature, and our technicians and reporters are constantly watching to ensure that this feature is not engaged.
  • Your Reportex technician is ALWAYS available to provide training and support and to deal with any security or technical issues that may arise during your proceeding.

When working with Reportex, you can be assured that our Systems Director and qualified technicians are following each new development and are managing solutions to provide our clients with the highest level of security and quality experience.

Comparing the Zoom and WebEx platforms

We have created this comparison chart of the relevant features of both Zoom and WebEx.  Please note that since the free version of Zoom only permits a 40-minute meeting session, we have not included this platform.

FeatureZoom ‘Pro’ LicenceWebEx ‘Free’ LicenceWebEx ‘Training’ Licence
Freshly generated meeting ID and password created for each unique meeting***
Apply a virtual background**
(iOS only)
*
(iOS only)
Touch up your appearance*  
‘Waiting Room’ feature (to prevent unauthorized access)***
Mute audio and stop video***
Participants can change their display name after logging in*  
Host can change participants’ display name after logging in*  
Prevent participants from changing their display name after logging in*  
Lock the meeting to prevent participants from joining after a certain time***
Non-hosts can invite other participants***
Make another participant the host/presenter***
Chat feature***
Disable the chat feature***
Breakout rooms* *
Ability to join a breakout room you are not assigned to   
Leave a breakout room and re-enter the main session area unannounced n/a*
Show documents or screen within the platform without uploading to US server***
Allow remote control of a document to another participant***
Record feature***

Helpful Links

“I did my first Zoom mediation with Jake of your office yesterday. An excellent experience.”
John Moshonas, Whitelaw Twining