Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom’s user base and usage ballooned practically overnight. Since most people are required to work from home, the video call service suddenly had a higher demand than anyone had anticipated. In addition to business usage, many friend groups and families have been using the service for keeping in touch as well as live streaming events like weddings, funerals and birthday parties.
Tools like Zoom are great for keeping in touch with people, but there have been issues—especially security issues. Online meeting software and cyber security issues in Phoenix, AZ have always been present, but now the need for security fixes is more pressing.
Zoom’s security issues
After usage ballooned, plenty of Zoom’s security flaws were exposed. For example, some Mac users are susceptible to having their microphone or video camera hijacked. Others have credibly accused Zoom of sending data to Facebook, and the meeting hosts were allowed to track attendees. The company also misleadingly claimed to have end-to-end encryption, which many businesses bank upon.
Since the pandemic began, people have taken to “Zoombombing,” which is when a person finds a meeting link and joins it to disrupt the meeting, usually by yelling obscenities, playing adult content or otherwise making a nuisance of themselves. There are features that cut down on this, but if a password is easy to guess, it could affect a user’s experience.
What we can expect in the future
After these issues came to light, the founder of Zoom, Eric Yuan, promised that the bugs and privacy issues would be fixed, and new security measures would be put into place to prevent other problems.
Some of the online meeting cyber security fixes include upgrading its bug bounty program, meeting with a security expert to find other vulnerabilities, halting new feature development until the safety and privacy issues are fixed and hosting weekly webinars to discuss privacy and security issues.
As the bugs are fixed, some businesses may turn to other online meeting software in Phoenix, AZ that has fewer vulnerabilities.
Alternatives to Zoom
If you can’t risk your cyber security, there are plenty of options for businesses to use. Skype and Microsoft Teams both offer video meetings without the bugs, while Webex and GoToMeeting are popular for high-powered businesses. Google also has a web conferencing option called Google Meet, which allows multiple users to video chat and share information. If you’re in the legal profession, LiveLitigation, Legaler and ClickMeeting all hold up to the professional privacy standards required.
Finally, if everyone in your company uses an Apple device, you can have meetings through group FaceTime chats. This option isn’t feasible for most businesses, but it’s a good fallback option without security issues if you’re in a pinch.
Staying on top of your security and privacy is key when you’re running a business that deals with sensitive information, whether it belongs to your clients or involves important trade secrets. For more help dealing with cyber security in Phoenix, AZ, call the team at GeekForce.biz today.