As the spread of coronavirus has forced employers to transition to remote work and schools have moved to digital learning for the remainder of the outbreak, Zoom exploded in popularity. As a result of all this extra attention, Zoom has become a victim of its own success.
While Zoom has landed itself at the top of the Apple App Store and Google Play download charts, the ever-popular video conferencing app now faces backlash, as security experts, privacy advocates and even the FBI warns that Zoom isn’t doing enough to secure its platform.
This isn’t the first time Zoom has faced backlash, either. In July 2019, Apple silently removed a Zoom-installed webserver from Mac devices after identifying serious security vulnerabilities. In recent weeks, scrutiny over Zoom’s security and privacy practices loomed again.
On Monday, a California man filed a class-action lawsuit against Zoom, alleging the service illegally shared user data with Facebook. The complaint accuses Zoom of violating the California Consumer Privacy Act, which requires companies to notify consumers when they collect and use their personal data.
While plenty of apps leverage Facebook's software-development kits to implement features into their apps, Zoom users may not be aware they’re providing personal data to another service.
Zoom is also under scrutiny by New York Attorney General Letitia James for its data privacy and security practices. In a letter to the company, James outlined several concerns and alleged Zoom has been slow to address security flaws in the past. James also questioned what new security measures Zoom has put in place to handle increased traffic and detect hackers
According to the BBC, a company spokesperson said, "Zoom takes its users' privacy, security, and trust extremely seriously. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we are working around-the-clock to ensure that hospitals, universities, schools, and other businesses across the world can stay connected and operational."
