Auto-answer feature is not administratively disabled.

Some VTC endpoints have a user selectable feature that provides the capability to automatically answer an incoming call. This would be akin to your speakerphone picking up a call each time the phone rang allowing an ongoing conversation to be heard by the caller. This feature, if activated, is highly detrimental to the confidentiality of information in a room in which a VTU is installed. In fact, a security incident could result from "auto-answer" being enabled. Such would be the case in the event a VTU automatically answered a call when a classified meeting or discussion (not via VTC) was being held in a conference room or an office having VTC capability. The auto-answer feature must not be activated by a user unless the feature is required to satisfy mission requirements. Furthermore, users must be trained in the vulnerabilities associated with the auto-answer feature and in its proper use if it is to be used. The ideal mitigation for this vulnerability is for the auto-answer feature to not be supported by the VTU or there be an administrator setting that can disable the feature preventing a user from activating it.