With Covid-19 being so widespread at the moment, many have to find alternate ways to work or attend school while staying safe at home. Most turn to Zoom, a video conferencing app currently in heavy use amidst the pandemic. With an increase in popularity, so do security concerns. The app doesn't provide end to end encryption for it's video calls which allows Zoom full access to any user's video or audio. Zoom's security becomes especially worrisome considering major political figures, such as Boris Johnson in the picture above, use Zoom to run entire countries. The company has a history of sending analytics data to Facebook and occasionally exposing user's private information to strangers. Recently, several security concerns have surfaced, including a vulnerability allowing hackers to steal Windows passwords and another allowing hackers to access Mac user's computers and webcam.
1. The company has pushed back at any security claims, saying that privacy and security were their top priorities. Do you believe that Zoom can be trusted to keep information secure?
2. Should politicians such as Boris Johnson be using the app considering the possible danger it poses to security?
3. How should the general public treat Zoom's security concerns?
sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52115434
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52126534
Because zoom has already proven the fact that they ar vulnerable to hackers and stuff, I don't think that they have the right to say that they can fully protect their users information. Zoom is a free app and can basically be used by anybody, so if your doing something important I would say that zoom is not a safe place to do so.
ReplyDeleteI think it is unfair of the company to claim that privacy and security are their top priorities because they have betrayed this claim in the past by sending analytics data to facebook and exposing user's private information to strangers. I believe that politicians and important companies should not be using zoom, for it is a risk to their safety and privacy. In fact, many companies have already stopped using zoom and switched to zoom's top competitor, Ring Central. Ring Central is a great source for people to use, especially if they are concerned about safety, because they offer the full benefits that zoom does plus more. Privacy and security are their top priority, and unlike zoom, they have proven to stick by it. In addition, they have also made their video calls entirely free for schools and companies during COVID-19.
ReplyDeleteI think that’s zoom is being used so much right now that many people would much rather just focus on getting through this quarantine and this pandemic and not have to worry about whether what they’re saying or who they’re talking to on the platform is safe or not . I think that people with more power such as politicians should definitely contact the company itself and tell them that they have to keep what they’re saying in those meetings safe or find another way to communicate with other politicians that is safe because what is being said could be a very private conversation that should not be heard by others. I think that the general probably should probably just know that zoom isn’t the most secure video conference platform and just let the public do with that information what they think is best for them.
ReplyDeleteA lot of my classes have been using Zoom for online learning, and I hadn't even realized the security concerns that come with using Zoom. I also hadn't realized that politicians might be using Zoom to conference with each other or to have important meeting and discussions. Since they might be talking about very private content, I guess it really isn't safe for them to be using a platform that they are not sure is secure. I don't know what a more secure alternative to Zoom is, but I think people discussing private material should make an effort to find a platform that they are sure is secure.
ReplyDeleteI do think that it is unfair that zoom has the ability to have our video and audio, and the fact that nobody has done anything about it seems strange at this point. Yet without all this, I don't think it's a problem that the average american citizen should be worried about at all. If you're using this app and not committing any crimes, then you should be fine. With saying that, I think the government should try to come up with another way to maker political conversation with other politician.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Zoom has the right to claim that safety and security is their number one priority since it's pretty obvious that hacking into a call is fairly easy and there are no precautions against it. The main problem is that there is a lot of pressure being put on Zoom because of the sudden increase amount of people using it as well as the important figures using it due to the pandemic. Politicians and others should keep in mind that Zoom was not originally intended to be a high-security conference place when regarding important issues.
ReplyDeleteI do not think it is right for Zoom to track our video conference information. This is a complete violation of privacy that should be dealt with as soon as possible due to the rise in the use of Zoom.
ReplyDeleteZoom and all other forms of video/audio messaging services are NEVER totally private; because it is online, anyone can hack into or find other means to listen to/obtain footage of the conversations that have occurred. Even sites like Google are not completely secure and will sell or give away our private information to advertisers and other sources just for extra bucks without our permission. I would say that the average American citizen shouldn't be worried about this, as long as we're not placing too much of our personal information online. Especially because we are students, there is nothing really that a hacker, per say, would be particularly interested in. The fact that politicians are using Zoom is troubling though; they are speaking about extremely private matters related to national security, and they should consider using safer means to communicate.
ReplyDeleteEven though Zoom isn't the most secure decision, for most people it should probably be fine, especially if they're only discussing schoolwork or topics of that sort. However, this is very worrisome for politicians, as they are likely discussing classified information over these calls. For these people, the ramifications of having calls released would be much more severe than the average user.
ReplyDeleteThis topic can be said for most websites as we never know if they record information being said or not. Zoom is just one of the many platforms which have this ability. We need to just make sure that whatever we say isn't private and that we don't put private information on the zoom call either. The best way to avoid security issues is to not give any information to the people controlling the site. Higher ranking members of the government and top government officials should stay away from the site if it is insecure. They are better off setting up a private channel to discuss whatever they need to prevent the public gaining information about their talks.
ReplyDeleteI think it is unfair for Zoom to say privacy and security are their top priorities, while they clearly are known for giving away the data of their users. Boris Johnson and other celebrities should not be using the app. It is dangerous for them, as a lot of their information may get stolen and sold or used on the internet, posing a threat to their safety. they should look into more secure platforms, where information is not known to get stolen.
ReplyDeleteI think that more of the general public should view this as a concern as they are being invaded of their privacy. As Zoom is becoming more popular for school use, more information is out there to be stolen and used for the company's advantage.
ReplyDeleteZoom is being used more than ever during the pandemic and if people's security is in danger they could have their information stolen. They should try to make a more secure platform with more security measures.
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