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TEAMS.TC.5017 - Broadcast Attendee Visibility

Description​

This test checks if broadcast attendee visibility is configured to protect attendee privacy.

Policy Statement​

Contoso's company policy requires broadcast attendee visibility to be restricted to protect privacy.

Why This Matters​

Exposing attendee lists in live events can create several risks:

Privacy Concerns​

  • Reveals who is interested in specific topics
  • May expose sensitive relationships
  • Can enable unwanted contact between attendees
  • May violate privacy expectations

Security Risks​

  • Attackers can identify high-value targets
  • Social engineering opportunities
  • Phishing potential (contact attendees of security event)

Professional Concerns​

  • Competitive intelligence (competitors see who attends)
  • Internal politics (who attended layoff announcement?)
  • Unwanted networking pressure

Test Criteria​

This test fails if:

  • BroadcastAttendeeVisibilityMode is set to EveryoneInCompany

This allows all attendees to see each other, which creates the privacy risks described above.

How to Fix​

Set attendee visibility to a more restrictive option:

# Recommended: Only invited users can see attendee list
Set-CsTeamsMeetingBroadcastPolicy -Identity Global -BroadcastAttendeeVisibilityMode InvitedUsersInCompany

Configuration Options​

Only users who were explicitly invited can see the attendee list.

Best for:

  • Most organizations
  • Events with sensitive topics
  • Default security posture

AnonymousUsers​

Attendees are anonymous - nobody can see the attendee list.

Best for:

  • Highly sensitive topics (HR, legal)
  • External events with guests
  • Maximum privacy protection

Downside:

  • Reduces networking opportunities
  • No attendee analytics

All attendees can see each other.

Only appropriate for:

  • Public events (already announced)
  • Networking events where visibility is desired
  • Internal town halls with no sensitive content

Verify Current Setting​

Get-CsTeamsMeetingBroadcastPolicy | Where-Object { $_.Identity -eq "Global" } | Select-Object BroadcastAttendeeVisibilityMode

Use Cases​

Example 1: Executive Town Hall​

Scenario: CEO quarterly update to entire company
Visibility: EveryoneInCompany (acceptable - public internal event)

Example 2: Product Launch (Confidential)​

Scenario: Pre-announcement briefing for Project Phoenix
Visibility: InvitedUsersInCompany (recommended - need-to-know basis)

Example 3: HR Policy Changes​

Scenario: Discussion of layoffs or reorganization
Visibility: AnonymousUsers (required - highly sensitive)

Example 4: Customer Webinar​

Scenario: External customers attending product demo
Visibility: AnonymousUsers (required - external guests)

Advanced Configuration​

Create different policies for different event types:

# Public events policy
New-CsTeamsMeetingBroadcastPolicy -Identity "PublicBroadcasts" `
    -BroadcastAttendeeVisibilityMode EveryoneInCompany

# Confidential events policy
New-CsTeamsMeetingBroadcastPolicy -Identity "ConfidentialBroadcasts" `
    -BroadcastAttendeeVisibilityMode InvitedUsersInCompany

# Highly sensitive events policy
New-CsTeamsMeetingBroadcastPolicy -Identity "SensitiveBroadcasts" `
    -BroadcastAttendeeVisibilityMode AnonymousUsers

# Assign to organizers as needed
Grant-CsTeamsMeetingBroadcastPolicy -Identity "hr-admin@contoso.com" -PolicyName "SensitiveBroadcasts"

Compliance Considerations​

  • GDPR: May require anonymity for certain events
  • Healthcare (HIPAA): Patient-facing events should be anonymous
  • Financial Services: May need to restrict visibility for insider trading concerns
  • Legal: Attorney-client events should prioritize privacy

Learn More​