Microsoft announces End-to-end encryption (E2EE) and multigeo support for Teams

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Microsoft announces End-to-end encryption (E2EE) and multigeo support for Teams

 

 

Microsoft today announced that End-to-end encryption (E2EE) for 1:1 Teams calls will be available in preview in the first half of 2021 for commercial customers.

 

To help customers meet their security and compliance requirements, Microsoft Teams will offer this E2EE feature as an additional option for conducting sensitive online conversations.

 

For example, a call from an IT admin giving an employee her password over Teams could be conducted with E2EE.

 

At start, customers will have the ability to enable E2EE for 1:1 unscheduled Teams calls. In the future, Microsoft will expand it to scheduled calls and online meetings.

 

Microsoft today also announced that Teams multigeo support will be generally available in the first half of 2021. With multigeo support for Teams data, organizations will have control over the location of specific data centers where their Teams data is stored.

 

Source: Microsoft

 

 

Source: Microsoft announces End-to-end encryption (E2EE) and multigeo support for Teams

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Teams users will soon be able to protect one-on-one conversations with end-to-end encryption

 

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Ink Drop)

 

Microsoft has announced a host of new security features for its Teams collaboration platform, including limited end-to-end encryption (E2EE) functionality.

 

At its annual Ignite conference, the company unveiled new video conferencing meeting controls to protect against gatecrashers, as well as a disable video function that should help to limit potential disruptions.

 

Multigeo support, meanwhile, will allow businesses that operate in multiple territories to have greater visibility and control over the location of the data centers holding their data, which Microsoft says will help them guarantee compliance with data protection regulations.

 

The most eagerly awaited update, however, is the introduction of end-to-end encryption to the Teams platform. This additional protection will be available to paying users and will initially apply to one-on-one meetings only, although Microsoft has hinted that E2EE will be extended to other meeting types further down the line.  

 

Some of these new additions will arrive sooner than others, but all are set to land within the first half of the year.

 

Microsoft Teams end-to-end encryption

In a system protected by E2EE, communication between meeting participants is encrypted using cryptographic keys held only on users’ devices. This means no third party, Microsoft included, has access to the keys to decrypt private meeting data.

 

Rival video conferencing service Zoom found itself in hot water at the start of pandemic, when it emerged that claims its meeting participants were protected by full end-to-end encryption were unfounded.

 

After acquiring specialist firm Keybase and bringing on a dedicated team of developers, Zoom eventually implemented E2EE protection in October, six months later.

 

Now, Microsoft has given its first indication that it intends to roll out end-to-end encryption for Teams as well, albeit incrementally.

 

“In this first release, customers will have the ability to enable E2EE for 1:1 unscheduled Teams calls,” Microsoft explained. “Future updates will be made available to support customers’ evolving compliance needs, including expanding to scheduled calls and online meetings.”

 

According to the company, the first iteration of E2EE on Teams will provide a means of passing sensitive information between individuals in a secure manner. “For example, a call from an IT admin giving an employee her password voer Teams could be conducted with E2EE,” Microsoft proposed.

 

Source

[Karlston]

Merged from Software News.

 

(Encryption, privacy related, so better here)