Zoom, the video conferencing service has risen greatly in popularity ever since strict lockdown measures have been instated to ensure social distancing. People at home have started using the service to attend online lectures and catch up with friends and family. However, the rise in its popularity has gone hand in hand with growing privacy concerns, including "Zoombombing" and a vulnerability that allows hackers to steal Windows" credentials.
Now, shareholder Michael Drieu has filed for a lawsuit accusing Zoom of fraud, and its higher management of withholding information about the app"s software encryption, including its alleged vulnerability to hackers, and the surreptitious disclosure of personal information to third parties like Facebook. The complaint was filed on Tuesday to the San Francisco federal court.
While Zoom has greatly benefited from the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, firms have grown wary of their employees using the video conferencing service. On Tuesday, Taiwan became the first of the governments to bar all official use of Zoom. Agencies around the world, including SpaceX, Tesla, and New York City’s Department of Education have started prohibiting its usage as well.
Zoom CEO Eric Yuan has addressed the issues in interviews and official blog posts last week, acknowledging that mistakes had been made and that the firm is now working towards implementing essentials like end-to-end encryption, thwarting Zoombombing, and enhancing its bug bounty program.
Source: Bloomberg