A waiting room is a pre-join holding area in a call or meeting where participants cannot enter until a host admits them. It acts as a controlled checkpoint between an invitation and full access to the live session.
In cyber security, waiting rooms help reduce accidental joins, unwanted interruptions, and simple impersonation attempts. Hosts can verify names, device context, or expected attendees before admitting anyone. This is useful against social engineering, meeting hijacking, and other forms of unauthorized access to real-time communications. As a defense, waiting rooms work best when combined with authenticated invitations, clear identity cues, and host-only admission controls. If abused, attackers may try to rush users into admitting the wrong participant or mimic a trusted identity to get past the checkpoint.