Popularity from Corona 19, security and privacy issues pointed out one after another

Online video conferencing applications are gaining popularity due to the spread of Corona 19 infection. Zoom is one of these. Accordingly, Zoom is rapidly increasing the number of users, but it is being pointed out that it has numerous problems such as security and personal information protection. One foreign press argued that zoom should not be used after all due to this problem.

It can be said that the convenience and reliability of the zoom is popular. In this regard, it is clear that zoom is a convenient tool. However, Zoom doesn’t have end-to-end encryption for online calls. In addition, it is clear that there are several security issues, such as pointing out that at least thousands of email addresses are being leaked through Zoom.

Another security researcher pointed out that Zoom was secretly installing a web server on a Mac that users use. Apple is in a position to perform an update to remove the secretly installed web servers to protect millions of Macs. He points out that if the web server is used by a malicious website, the Mac webcam with Zoom installed can be used without user permission.

Zoom’s problem is not only in terms of security, but also in terms of privacy. At the end of March 2020, it was revealed that Zoom is also sending data to Facebook from people who don’t have a Facebook account. Zum was pointed out and immediately deleted the code in question, but it couldn’t stop the New York Department of Justice from starting an investigation for a class action.

In addition, it has been pointed out that using Zoom’s attendee tracking function, the meeting host can check if the other party is away from the PC is also a violation of privacy. Another security researcher discovered that Zum had a way to automatically install applications to Mac users without administrative privileges. He criticized Zum’s method, saying that it is the same method used in macOS malware. Sexual harassment (ZoomBombing), such as showing adult videos through other zoom screen sharing functions, is becoming a problem, and the FBI is evolving into a situation where users are warned to change the default settings so that video calls are not hijacked by Internet trolls.

In addition, it is also a problem that Zoom collects information on video conferences open to users for advertisements. However, in response to this, Zum is moving straight away, reinforcing its privacy policy, and claiming that the analysis of the user’s call video for advertisements has disappeared.

Because of this problem, it is said that using zoom is not recommended. However, there are many alternatives that value privacy, but there are also pitfalls in the alternatives. FaceTime and WhatsApp perform end-to-end encryption, but FaceTime only works on Apple devices, and WhatsApp can have up to four video calls at a time. Also, video call platforms such as Jitsi do not perform end-to-end encryption. However, since it is an open source project, you can check that there is no backdoor in the code. Another point is that it can be used on any terminal or browser. Running Jizzie on a server that you control can improve your privacy. Anyway, any alternative tool has its drawbacks. Related information can be found here .