Chat application Zoom will immediately remove the meeting ID from the title bar of the program, after several screenshots recently appeared online of government officials who shared their screen (including call ID and sometimes also password).
The privacy of Zoom users has regularly been called into question in recent weeks, now that the service is seeing a huge increase in the number of users. One of the most striking flaws of the chat app was the clear picture of the meeting ID, and below that, the password. This made it easier for the creator of a meeting to invite people, but it can also cause unwanted guests.
Governments also vulnerable
For example, the password and meeting ID of a Belgian parliamentary meeting could be seen in a screenshot shared by a member of parliament (although only after the meeting had ended), just like the meeting ID of a cabinet meeting in the United Kingdom (shared by Prime Minister Boris Johnson). Like that, active calls become the target of trolls that dive into the meeting en masse, in order to disrupt them.
In the latest update of Zoom (for Windows as well as Mac and Linux) the measurement ID has been moved to a drop-down menu under the information logo. Besides that change, Zoom also brought the security features it already had more to the forefront for creators of a meeting. With a separate security button, certain tools are easier to find, so making changes should be smoother. Finally, it is also possible to put a meeting on hold, even if that was initially disabled for a call.
In the coming period, Zoom will mainly receive updates that focus on improving the security of the app, since CEO Eric Yuan announced a week ago that he will put all functionality updates on hold. According to Yuan, the focus is now on fixing vulnerabilities that have come to light in recent weeks, as well as improving the privacy of users.
21 hours ago
