For the past month or so, video conferencing service Zoom has been in the crosshairs (see my previous column) of those focused on privacy and security. And rightly so. The service had exploded in growth as school and business COVID-19 shutdowns spread across the globe.

I would say you can now cross Zoom off your items-to-worry-about list for the following reasons.

  • the company has implemented default settings that now pretty much prevent novice users from getting into embarrassing situations
  • the company has promised to not implement any new (and hence untested) features for the next 90 days
  • the company has promised to provide a user-selectable location for data storage
  • the company has said no data or security keys will be routed through China for customers outside that country
  • the government of Singapore has reversed its ban on Zoom use in schools (we aren't clear if this is on the same basis as the B.C. government's licensing for Zoom)
  • the broad stock market has for the most part bought CEO Eric Yuan's assertions that security and privacy are now key goals of the company (the share price has pretty much recovered all of the loss it experienced when security woes were headline news)

Was the concern over Zoom overblown? No, not at all. It forced Zoom to face up to the fact it had fallen short on privacy and security in favour of rapid customer growth.

Are there still issues to resolve? Sure. The matter of recently exposed Zoom accounts for example. This does not appear to be a Zoom problem directly but rather one of people reusing passwords from other accounts that have been previously hacked and are sold openly on the dark web. The way to resolve this is to have everyone use unique passwords they have not used elsewhere. 

Will there be other security and privacy issues for Zoom down the road? Quite likely. Zoom is a big target. Is the company now better-equipped to deal with issues? Yes, without a doubt.

And if you aren’t buying CEO Yuan’s assertions about its commitment to security and privacy for its customers, especially the avalanche of new users brought in by COVID-19 school and workplace closures, there are certainly alternatives, the most widely used being Skype and Google Meet.

Skype is owned by Microsoft, although if truth be told, the company would really prefer you to use its relatively new Teams product, whether it be a free standalone version or through its Office 365 subscription service. It is Office 365 that has become a cash cow for the Redmond, Wash., company, part of its transition to a web services business.

Indeed, Teams usage has skyrocketed, partly on news of Zoom’s missteps, to the point where demand briefly exceeded capacity one day in mid-April.

Watch for Google to ramp up its own video conferencing capabilities as it improves its Meet service with a possible integration directly into Gmail. Also coming soon will be a native grid view (without having to rely on a browser extension), and video quality enhancement in low- or poor-lighting conditions. 

If you remain skeptical of any commercial video conferencing service, you can always go the open source route.  That brings us to Jitsi and its app Jitsi Meet, available as a web service and also for the iOS and Android platforms. However, if you’ve already experienced the simplicity and flexibility of, say, Zoom, you’ll likely find Jitsi to be quite lacking.

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Looking for resources to help you as a parent or teacher with safety tips for children learning from home? Your Catholic or public school likely has already sent you something along those lines. 

Another good set of resources is to be found at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (protectchildren.ca). There you will find material for families and caregivers, as well as for educators and school administrators. 

Follow me on Facebook (facebook.com/PeterVogelCA), on Twitter (@PeterVogel), or on Instagram (@plvogel) 

pvogel@outlook.com