In the Wake of Widespread Hacker Attacks, Study Reveals Security Concerns Centering on Web Conferencing

BRIDGEWATER, NJ--(Marketwired - Feb 25, 2015) - OmniJoin, the web conferencing division of Brother International Corporation, today released survey results revealing that firms are concerned with security threats and securing sensitive content during web conferencing. In addition to security, high performance and network capabilities were important factors in IT leaders' choosing on-premise web conferencing solutions. Forrester Consulting conducted the commissioned study on behalf of Brother in September 2014 and surveyed 150 IT professionals in regulated and non-regulated industries in North America.

Other key findings surrounding security risks during web conferences include:

• Employees practice risky meeting behaviors with crucial company data. Nearly 40 percent of firms have meetings that involve financial data; one-third have meetings where employees share private customer or patient information; and approximately one in five have web meetings that involve trade secrets.
• Controlling the exposure of sensitive content is a top security concern. Four out of five IT decision-makers consider this important, and 51 percent consider it very important.
• Security ranks as top reason for firms in choosing on-premises deployments. Security was very important to 74 percent of IT decision-makers in their choice of web conferencing on-premises. Optimizing performance and controlling license costs are the number two and three reasons.

According to the study, when asked to judge security threats with web conferencing, 69 percent of IT professionals cited concern with employees sharing unauthorized content in meetings, with 38 percent labeling themselves as "very concerned." Additionally, 64 percent (33% concerned, 31% very concerned) cited unauthorized participants listening in silently to meetings, and 63 percent (25% concerned, 38 % very concerned) cited unauthorized participants downloading content shared in web conferences as concerns.

"As we've seen recently, hackers are no longer aiming just at identity and credit card theft, they're also zeroing in on individual companies, and the competitive intelligence and personal information within their communications," said Bill Henderson, VP of Marketing at Brother International Corporation. "As nearly every size organization makes web meetings a daily part of their operations, they should look closely at on-premise web conferencing, deployed in their private cloud, to protect not just their data, but also their ideas."

Download full study here.

For more information about Brother OmniJoin web conferencing, please visit www.omnijoin.com.

Other Web Services from Brother
For decades, small office / home office, small and medium sized businesses, and corporate workgroup customers have depended on Brother for high-quality, value-packed business machines. By launching the Brother Online suite of smart, web-based business services, Brother has now expanded beyond simply offering great hardware products. OmniJoin™ web conferencing was the first such major service offering, the Brother Online suite has now added a variety of scanning and workflow solutions, which complement and expand the value of Brother™ scanners, printers, and Multi-Function Center® devices. For more information on Brother Online services, visit www.brothercloud.com

About Brother
Brother International Corporation is one of the premier providers of products for the home, home office and office. The U.S. corporate office in Bridgewater, NJ, was established on April 21, 1954 and currently markets many industrial products, home appliances and business products manufactured by its parent company, Brother Industries, Ltd. of Nagoya, Japan.

These products include an award-winning line of Multi-Function Center^® machines and printers. Brother also provides the number-one line of facsimile machines in the U.S. and is the leader in electronic labeling, with its full line of P-touch^® Electronic Labeling Systems. For more information you can visit the website at www.brother-usa.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Photography available upon request.

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