NetMeeting Security Concerns

One of the more common tools used in business environments is Microsoft's NetMeeting, which is offered for free and provides real-time collaboration tools. Some of the tools provided by NetMeeting include: video/audio conferencing, whiteboard, chat, file transfer, program sharing, remote desktop sharing, and security. Users from inside or outside of a private network are able to connect to each other and utilize the program. A few of NetMeeting's features are of concern in respect to network security. Perhaps, the scariest element is remote desktop sharing; however Microsoft lists security as one of NetMeeting's features. In this paper I'd like to explore how NetMeeting works and understand its security implications in a business environment. Most companies use a firewall as part of their perimeter defense. The firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network. Because NetMeeting allows connections from outside of the network, the perimeter defense can be bypassed in three ways. The first is via social engineering. The second is holes or vulnerabilities created in the firewall configuration to allow NetMeeting to operate. Lastly, bugs in the program itself can cause security issues. In the following paragraphs, we will explore each issue.