Weak link: has the smart meeting room become a security blind spot?

Meeting rooms have become some of the most critical spaces in today’s workplace. As hybrid work settles into a long-term operating model, these spaces now sit at the centre of collaboration, decision-making and knowledge exchange. Yet while meeting rooms have rapidly evolved in terms of flexibility and experience, their security and governance have not always kept pace.

Modern meeting rooms are no longer isolated physical spaces. Screens, cameras, microphones, wireless sharing tools and collaboration platforms are increasingly connected to wider IT, cloud and building systems. This convergence has enabled smoother collaboration across locations, but it has also introduced new forms of risk. As organisations scale their meeting room capabilities, the potential attack surface grows alongside them.

Recent research suggests awareness of this challenge is increasing. According to IDC, 51% of organisations now prioritise security when selecting videoconferencing solutions – up from 40% in previous years, suggesting a growing recognition that collaboration technologies are becoming integral components of organisational risk management.

The governance blind spots

Despite the growing awareness, meeting rooms often remain under-governed compared with other workplace technologies. Responsibility for these spaces is frequently fragmented – split between IT teams managing networks and devices, facilities teams overseeing physical environments, and end users focused on ease of use. The result is that meeting rooms can fall between ownership boundaries.

Unsecured meeting room systems can expose sensitive conversations, confidential documents or personal data. Wireless presentation tools and outdated firmware or default access settings all create potential entry points for unauthorised access. This is amplified in hybrid meetings, where external participants regularly join internal discussions.

While meeting rooms are rarely the primary focus of cyberattacks, they can act as weak links within otherwise mature security environments. As collaboration becomes more distributed and data-rich, these overlooked spaces increasingly matter.

Security and experience are converging

A common assumption in workplace technology is that stronger security inevitably creates friction for users. In practice, this trade-off is becoming less relevant. As collaboration tools mature, security is increasingly embedded into system design, making the experience more seamless for the user.

Secure-by-design approaches aim to protect data without complicating the meeting experience, with security controls built into default workflows. This reduces the likelihood of employees bypassing safeguards simply to keep meetings running smoothly, while good user experience and robust governance are increasingly seen as complementary goals.

Privacy, compliance and trust

Meeting room security is also shaped by rising regulatory and reputational expectations. From GDPR to international information security standards such as ISO/IEC 27001, organisations are expected to demonstrate that collaboration environments meet recognised benchmarks for data protection and privacy.

In practice, this means ensuring meeting room technologies support encryption, regular software updates, configurable security policies and verifiable compliance credentials. For many organisations, compliance is about demonstrating a strong commitment to data privacy as much as reducing legal risks.

Security as a productivity issue

The impact of insecure meeting rooms extends beyond technical risk. Cyber incidents can disrupt workflows, undermine confidence in workplace systems and divert time and resources away from core activities.

According to IDC, 47% of organisations cite exposure to hackers as a top concern in flexible and hybrid work models. Meanwhile, IBM estimates that the average cost of a data breach reached $4.45 million in 2023 – an expense that highlights the scale of potential consequences. Even when incidents fall short of major breaches, the operational disruption can be significant.

Proactive measures such as automatic updates, real-time monitoring and clearly defined access controls help reduce the likelihood of disruption while supporting more stable collaboration environments.

A shared responsibility

Securing meeting rooms is not solely an IT challenge. It requires coordination across workplace strategy, technology procurement, facilities management and user behaviour. Decisions about room design, vendor selection, system integration and employee guidance all influence the security of collaboration spaces.

Organisations that take a holistic approach – aligning technical standards with workplace policies and user education – are better positioned to manage risk without compromising usability.

The question organisations increasingly face is not whether meeting room safety matters, but whether their collaboration spaces are designed to meet the demands of a workplace where meetings are constant, distributed and business-critical.