As many jobs are transitioning to working remotely, Zoom has quickly emerged to be a leader in simple web conferencing technology. However, the shift to this service has not been without issues. Zoom has had major security issues as of recently, including data being leaked, the selling of user information, and Zoombombing (unwanted intrusion into a meeting by unauthorized party). These security issues have become such an issue that the FBI released a bulletin about how to address them. Listed below are some of the security considerations that should be addressed in order to secure your Zoom meetings and protect them from cyberattacks. 

Update Zoom Client 

Upon launching, the Zoom application will inform you if there is an update to install. It is paramount that you accept the update to the application so important security patches can be added. These security patches will greatly decrease the likelihood of an intrusion to your meeting. Additionally, more features and options will be released in every new version allowing for stronger remote collaboration. 

Disable Screen Sharing and Mute All Participants 

In order to limit the amount of distractions in a Zoom meeting, change your settings that only the host of the meeting may share their screen. This will prevent students, or other malicious persons from hijacking your meeting and sharing potentially inappropriate content to the rest of the class. By muting all participants, it will prevent anyone from trying to talk over the current presenter. If someone would like to talk, the “raise-hand” nonverbal feature can be used to notify the host of the meeting to manually call on and unmute the participant individually. All these settings can be managed in the Security tab in the meeting.

Set Passwords 

Without setting a password, anyone who has access to the Zoom meeting link can join and participate in the meeting even without being specifically invited. By setting a password to the meeting, only people who have access to the password and the link can join the meeting. 

Avoid Publicly Posting Zoom Links 

Remember to only post any Zoom meeting links in a secure place, such as in Moodle (LMS) course content or internal email chains in order to prevent anyone from finding the link on a public website. Restricting who gets access to the link will greatly improve your chances of avoiding any unwanted interruptions during the meeting. 

For more information regarding Zoom, visit Guides provided at https://semo.edu/it/guides/campustechnology.html.

Author: Quinn Johnson, Tech Assistant