Webex meets stringent privacy standards for use in the CJEU

Webex, the first and only videoconferencing solution to get the green light from the EDPS for use by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU). In its Decision published on July 13, 2023, the EDPS considers that the use of Cisco Webex videoconferencing and related services by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) complies with data protection standards under Regulation 2018/1725 applicable to EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies. Webex videoconference validated by the EDPS for use at the ECJ.

At Cisco, they take privacy and security very seriously. So seriously that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) itself has been relying on Webex by Cisco to organize hybrid meetings and hearings, relying on Webex to process and store highly confidential and personal court data securely.

On July 13, 2023, after months of analysis and investigation, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) confirmed that TJUE's use of Webex complies with the specific and stringent rules for the processing of personal data by EU institutions, bodies and agencies.

The EDPS is the data protection supervisory authority of the European institutions; the Institutions are the authors of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Webex is the first and currently the only videoconferencing platform to obtain EDPS approval, an important milestone that Webex and the CJEU collectively share. It is not a minor achievement, knowing that the CJEU itself is the entity that, back in 2020, issued the Schrems II judgment, invalidating the Privacy Shield as a mechanism for transferring personal data between the EU and the US under the GDPR.

Webex complies with rigorous privacy standards for use by the ECJ. Webex videoconference validated by the EDPS for use at the ECJ.

The CJEU deals with cases of high sensitivity and personal data that require extra precautions. The Court's technical and organizational measures, together with Webex's privacy and security controls, were key elements that enabled the collaborative solution to receive a positive decision from the EDPS.

In this regard, Cisco's legal, product engineering and privacy teams supported a detailed impact assessment to ensure that the complementary measures implemented were appropriate to the risks identified.

In addition, Webex enables customers to easily manage their data, meeting usage, control user access and react efficiently to potential security threats. Webex also allows EU customers to store their personal data within the EU, even for events involving large audiences and multiple panelists. These features are available to any European customer.

Webex security and privacy features

Webex offers industry-leading privacy and security controls to protect personal data and users (integrated, non-integrated) and delivered by default for all our customers. This means complying with the strictest certifications, standards and rules from countries around the world. We developed additional security and privacy features, including next-generation end-to-end encryption and data protection by design and by default, where users must proactively enable features such as facial recognition. These privacy controls are included by default for all customers.

Best practices to make your webex meetings more secure

Maximum compliance with the EU Cloud Code of Conduct, and more. Webex videoconference validated by the EDPS for use at the ECJ.

Webex is the first and currently the only collaboration solution that has achieved the highest level of compliance (level 3) of the EU Cloud Code of Conduct . To achieve this, Webex underwent an independent third-party assessment and audit that verified all controls included in the Code, which was validated by SCOPE Europe, the supervisory body of the EU Cloud CoC. This "two-door verification" approach to Level 3 compliance is a double confirmation of compliance. In addition to EU Cloud CoC, Webex features enable organizations to comply with specific local rules and standards, such as the German C5, the Spanish ENS and many other certifications with third-party audits.

Complete data localization

Webex allows organizations to keep their data in the EU. With Webex's data centers in Frankfurt and Amsterdam, European users can rest assured that their data will remain within the EU, from their user-generated content (files, messages, recordings) to analytics data, logs, third-party services, user profiles and even billing data. Webex is currently the only collaboration platform that supports full data residency in the EU.

More transparency, more control

Webex Control Hub allows administrators to manage the entire stack, from end users and devices to network performance and security. This tool provides increasing transparency, allowing customers to see where their data is located for each service and to choose to move their data to their preferred location. Control Hub also allows the host organization to easily and securely manage data storage and configure user and content access controls.

Next-generation encryption

End-to-end security is essential to protect privacy, as it offers greater security and confidentiality. That's why Webex uses zero trust end-to-end encryption. With this, Webex prevents outsiders from intercepting communications. In addition, the meeting encryption keys are only accessible to meeting participants. Webex cannot access the meeting key, hence "Zero-Trust". Additional security measures include malware protection and data loss prevention.

Cisco's commitment to privacy and security

For Cisco, privacy is more than a compliance issue; it is a business imperative, as evidenced by our long-standing security, data protection, and privacy programs for our products and services. With the recognition of data protection authorities and leading industry analysts including Sorell Slaymaker , Metrigy y Gartner With Webex, public and private organizations count on Webex for secure, private and compliant cloud collaboration. We will continue to improve our security and privacy measures in this ever-evolving world.

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