What does British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have in common with virtual happy hour celebrants and thousands of students worldwide?
All use Zoom Video Communications Inc’s videoconferencing application to get together while staying apart during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, amid its newfound fame, the Silicon Valley-based company has come under stepped-up scrutiny over how it handles privacy and security — including allowing uninvited guests to barge in on sessions.
Photo: Reuters
Created by engineer Eric Yuan (袁征) in 2011 and listed on the NASDAQ Composite a year ago, Zoom has seen its market value skyrocket to about US$35 billion.
Yuan has spoken of a passion for communication technologies that dates back to the 1990s, when, as a university student in China, he longed for a way to see his girlfriend without needing to travel hours by train.
Zoom hit the market as a tool for people working apart to collaborate on business, competing with offerings from the likes of Microsoft Corp, Facebook Inc, Google and others.
As people worldwide stay home due to contagion risk, Zoom has become a go-to service for remote education, exercise classes, poker games, church services and happy hour celebrations.
Couples have gotten married in “zoomed” ceremonies. Birthdays have been celebrated. Funerals have been virtually attended.
“It’s really easy to use, and free; that’s nice,” said US schoolteacher Justin Minkel, who teaches students remotely using Zoom. “Just click a link.”
Home chaos such as dogs barking or outbursts from siblings can be disruptive, but Minkel cures that by “muting” students’ microphones until he needs to hear them.
The daily number of people taking part in Zoom meetings last month eclipsed 200 million, up from just 10 million at the end of last year, Yuan said.
Video calls have surged on all messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Google Hangouts, but Zoom has become a star.
It lets as many as 100 people simultaneously attend a videoconference, allowing 40 minutes free and then charging for premium accounts that provide more time and features for US$15 monthly.
Zoom lifted the 40-minute limit on free accounts for teachers in several countries.
Among Zoom settings is an option to choose a backdrop, such as the Golden Gate Bridge or a tropical beach, hiding what is really behind a user.
Digital learning coach Stephanie DeMichele credited the surge in Zoom use to fear of being disconnected from schools, friends, families and others in people’s lives.
“And here comes Zoom saying: ‘It’s free, available and you won’t feel isolated,’” DeMichele said. “So people grabbed onto it.”
However, a “Zoom-bombing” phenomenon has sparked warnings about lax security.
Virtual intruders have interrupted religious ceremonies, remote classes and other Zoom gatherings. In some cases, pornographic images have been displayed.
US media have reported that Zoom shares some data with third parties and questioned how well virtual meeting data is defended.
Prosecutors from several US states, including Connecticut, New York and Florida, are investigating the company’s privacy and security practices.
The FBI has warned of Zoom sessions being hijacked.
Yuan this week apologized and vowed to step up data security.
“We recognize that we have fallen short of the community’s — and our own — privacy and security expectations,” Yuan said in a message posted online. “For that, I am deeply sorry.”
Zoom was designed primarily for use by large businesses with their own tech teams to provide support and protection, he said.
“We did not design the product with the foresight that, in a matter of weeks, every person in the world would suddenly be working, studying and socializing from home,” Yuan said.
“These new, mostly consumer use cases have helped us uncover unforeseen issues with our platform,” he added.
While encouraged that Zoom is admitting it has security problems, it still has “a ton of work” to do to fix them and restore trust in the platform, Electronic Frontier Foundation associate director of research Gennie Gebhart said.
While tending to its immediate concerns, Zoom would be wise to keep an eye on the future, Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi said.
“Replicating what Zoom has is not too difficult,” Milanesi said. “They need to think about what else they want to be.”
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