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Zoom boss apologises for security issues and promises fixes
Source: BBC
Zoom boss apologises for security issues and promises fixes
By Jane Wakefield
Technology reporter
2 April 2020
Zoom is to pause the development of any new features to concentrate on safety and privacy issues, in the wake of criticism from users of the app.
In a blog, the chief executive of the video conferencing app apologised for "falling short" on security issues and promised to address concerns.
He said that the use of Zoom had soared in ways he could never have foreseen prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
One security expert said he hoped the company culture would change.
Zoom is now being used by millions of people for work and leisure, as lockdowns are imposed in many countries.
-snip-
By Jane Wakefield
Technology reporter
2 April 2020
Zoom is to pause the development of any new features to concentrate on safety and privacy issues, in the wake of criticism from users of the app.
In a blog, the chief executive of the video conferencing app apologised for "falling short" on security issues and promised to address concerns.
He said that the use of Zoom had soared in ways he could never have foreseen prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
One security expert said he hoped the company culture would change.
Zoom is now being used by millions of people for work and leisure, as lockdowns are imposed in many countries.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52133349
______________________________________________________________________
Source: The Guardian
‘Zoom is malware’: why experts worry about the video conferencing platform
The company has seen a 535% rise in daily traffic in the past month, but security researchers say the app is a ‘privacy disaster’
Kari Paul
Thu 2 Apr 2020 15.23 BST
Last modified on Thu 2 Apr 2020 21.39 BST
As coronavirus lockdowns have moved many in-person activities online, the use of the video-conferencing platform Zoom has quickly escalated. So, too, have concerns about its security.
In the last month, there was a 535% rise in daily traffic to the Zoom.us download page, according to an analysis from the analytics firm SimilarWeb. Its app for iPhone has been the most downloaded app in the country for weeks, according to the mobile app market research firm Sensor Tower. Even politicians and other high-profile figures, including the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the former US federal reserve chair Alan Greenspan, use it for conferencing as they work from home.
But security researchers have called Zoom “a privacy disaster” and “fundamentally corrupt” as allegations of the company mishandling user data snowball.
On Monday, New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, sent a letter to the company asking it to outline the measures it had taken to address security concerns and accommodate the rise in users.
In the letter, James said Zoom had been slow to address security vulnerabilities “that could enable malicious third parties to, among other things, gain surreptitious access to consumer webcams”.
-snip-
The company has seen a 535% rise in daily traffic in the past month, but security researchers say the app is a ‘privacy disaster’
Kari Paul
Thu 2 Apr 2020 15.23 BST
Last modified on Thu 2 Apr 2020 21.39 BST
As coronavirus lockdowns have moved many in-person activities online, the use of the video-conferencing platform Zoom has quickly escalated. So, too, have concerns about its security.
In the last month, there was a 535% rise in daily traffic to the Zoom.us download page, according to an analysis from the analytics firm SimilarWeb. Its app for iPhone has been the most downloaded app in the country for weeks, according to the mobile app market research firm Sensor Tower. Even politicians and other high-profile figures, including the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the former US federal reserve chair Alan Greenspan, use it for conferencing as they work from home.
But security researchers have called Zoom “a privacy disaster” and “fundamentally corrupt” as allegations of the company mishandling user data snowball.
On Monday, New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, sent a letter to the company asking it to outline the measures it had taken to address security concerns and accommodate the rise in users.
In the letter, James said Zoom had been slow to address security vulnerabilities “that could enable malicious third parties to, among other things, gain surreptitious access to consumer webcams”.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/apr/02/zoom-technology-security-coronavirus-video-conferencing