The Privacy Diaries:Zoom’s Security Flaws Are Well Documented

With people forced into self-isolation due to the current global pandemic and businesses forced to send workers home, there has been an increased need to for companies to find ways to keep consistent interaction with their employees.

Though there are several apps out there that can provide the basic services needed, Zoom has undoubtedly moved to the front of the cue.

This increased exposure is a dream for most apps, but with increased exposure comes an increase in scrutiny and it seems as though Zoom has completely been deceiving us.

The security flaws in the Zoom app were brought to light in recent weeks, due to the increase usage of the app by businesses around the world. Unfortunately for Zoom users, this isn’t a new issue. Security researcher Jonathan Leitschuch published a blog back in 2019 highlighting the security flaws in the Zoom app. In his research, he found a vulnerability in the Mac Desktop client of the video conferencing of zoom. Malicious hackers were able to hack users webcam without anyone ever knowing.

Going back even further, an article by Lindsey O’Donnell in December of 2018 further warned users about the security flaws on the app. Researchers at Tenable had found a bug in the Zoom event messaging pump. David Wells a top researcher at tenable concluded in his analysis that “An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to perform restricted meeting operations.”

Fast forward to 2020, a Vice article dropped a bombshell on millions of Zoom users, stating that their information is being shared with Facebook without their consent. Plenty were mortified, and understandably so. The extent of the information shared is up for anyone to guess. Zoom, like other apps, does use Facebook’s software development kits (SDK) as a means to integrate features into their apps, but this in turn has the effect of sending information to Facebook.

Whether zoom’s poor security infrastructure is deliberate for financial gains or it’s a result of incompetence, we cannot afford to have private or valuable company information shared or easily access due to poor security infrastructure.

These kinds of leaks are becoming the norm and that’s a worrying trend for data privacy advocates. There is an undeniable need for a software that puts the user safety at the forefront.

The use of apps built on a decentralized blockchain network could be the salvation needed to protect our information from big corporation financial exploitation. The use of a decentralized network secures personal and private data and allows you to transfer files in a safe and secure manner.