Sharing Best Practices is an initiative of Work Package (WP) 15 within the ERIC Forum 2 Project, created to offer a virtual space where ERICs can exchange experiences, practices and knowledge on topics of shared interest.
The initiative is based on voluntary participation and follows a flexible format: each meeting opens with a short introduction to the selected topic, which then naturally evolves into an open discussion or a hands-on activity, depending on the subject and the interests of the participants. Over time, several other Work Packages have made use of this space to engage with other ERICs or with staff from specific offices, fostering dialogue and deeper reflection on common challenges.
Annoying intruders: bots in webinars and meetings
Our most recent meeting focused on a topic that many infrastructures are increasingly facing: the presence of bots in webinars and online meetings. The idea for a dedicated session was proposed by the communication team of one of the WP15 participants and was immediately met with strong interest from the wider ERIC community, confirming how widespread and cross cutting the issue has become.
Andrew DeBevec from ICOS ERIC opened the discussion by sharing insights drawn from his infrastructure’s experience. His introduction set the scene for a lively and constructive exchange among participants.
Zoom security best practices
During his presentation, Debevec outlined a number of security measures for online meetings, using Zoom as a reference while noting that the same principles apply to other platforms such as Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. He highlighted how relatively simple steps, such as requiring registration, enabling authentication, using waiting rooms, and limiting or disabling chat functions, can significantly reduce the risk of guesting annoying AI intruders.
He also recommended blocking the domains of known AI tools and declining recording requests whenever a bot appears in a meeting. He also shared a list of suggested domains to block, drawing on resources from Zoom’s blog and Cornell University’s IT services.
GDPR implications and data protection concerns
The conversation then expanded to include regulatory considerations. Eleanor Shember from BBMRI raised concerns about GDPR compliance when bots are allowed to access webinars, particularly in relation to data storage in the United States and the lack of consistent opt-out options. She also referred to the lawsuit involving Otter’s data handling practices and suggested using Chapman University’s guidelines as a useful starting point for adopting best practices with AI tools, also in the lights of the potentially commercially sensitive nature of some discussions.
The session concluded with contributions from ECRIN ERIC. Arthur Smaall (Information Systems Officer) and Alex Kuster (Communications Officer) shared their practical experience in dealing with bots, from adding specific disclaimers in meeting invitations to blocking bot-related domains at mail server level, in order to prevent phishing-like registrations.
Future steps on the topic
The Sharing Best Practices initiative may return to this topic in the future, as the idea of starting from Andrew’s advice and already existing policies to draft a common base for each ERIC to adopt seems to be of general interest.
In the meantime, Andrew Debevec has kindly agreed to share his presentation with all the community. You can find his slides here. We highly encourage you to consult them.
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