By know, Zoom has become immensely popular for video calling needs. From work to schools and even friends, the teleconferencing platform is being used to conduct meetings, virtual hangouts or even concerts soon. But with all the success, there is bad news as well as Google has recently imposed a ban on its employees to stop using the Zoom app within the organization.
Google issued the ban in response to the increasing security errors that have been making Zoom less trustworthy and therefore the company has decided to remove the app from all of the Google devices given to the employees.
As an alternative, Google might shift to Meet - a video conferencing app in the G Suite offering that has the potential to compete with Zoom.
According to Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda, the current ban is actually an implementation of policy that has been there for years in the company that doesn’t allow employees to use any of the unauthorized apps for work, especially the ones that fall outside the corporate network app circle.
Google’s security team made the announcement via an Email to employees who were already using Zoom Desktop Client and stated that none of the workers would be able to use Zoom for work purposes. The executives even mentioned the real reason behind it saying that the app doesn’t meet Google’s security standards and hence the company doesn’t want to put privacy at risk.
However, the employees can still use Zoom if they want to stay connected with friends or family during the working hours, but only through a web browser or mobile.
The stories of vulnerabilities in Zoom aren’t new as they have been a part of severe criticism since July 2019 when a macOS flaw made Zoom URL activate the Macbook Webcam. And then fast-forwarding to the global pandemic that rose due to COVID-19, Zoom had to deal with more of lax privacy and security issues.
The latest problems with Zoom include “Zoombombing” - a term given to the practice of how random strangers are locating and jumping into Zoom calls, exposed Zoom recordings, data sharing with Facebook and exposed Linked-In profiles as well. Although the FBI has stepped in and warned people about prosecuting anyone for such acts, the loopholes also highlight the fact that Zoom was also never made to cater to such a massive user base as the growth spiked from 10 million to 200 million users in the past three months.
But with all the negativity going around, Zoom is also acting more and more responsible. Earlier this month, the company announced that they will no longer work on new features and invest in resources to improve privacy and security for its consumers.
Now they are actually fulfilling the promise by announcing to take help from CISOs including HSBC, NTT Data, Procore, and Ellie Mae. Zoom is also setting up an Advisory board with security leaders from VMware, Netflix, Uber, Electronic Arts, and others. There are also chances that Alex Stamos, ex-CSO of Facebook might also join the team of advisors.
Photo: Andrei Stanescu via Getty Images
Read next: Skype Takes on Zoom By Reminding People Ease of Use
Google issued the ban in response to the increasing security errors that have been making Zoom less trustworthy and therefore the company has decided to remove the app from all of the Google devices given to the employees.
As an alternative, Google might shift to Meet - a video conferencing app in the G Suite offering that has the potential to compete with Zoom.
According to Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda, the current ban is actually an implementation of policy that has been there for years in the company that doesn’t allow employees to use any of the unauthorized apps for work, especially the ones that fall outside the corporate network app circle.
Google’s security team made the announcement via an Email to employees who were already using Zoom Desktop Client and stated that none of the workers would be able to use Zoom for work purposes. The executives even mentioned the real reason behind it saying that the app doesn’t meet Google’s security standards and hence the company doesn’t want to put privacy at risk.
However, the employees can still use Zoom if they want to stay connected with friends or family during the working hours, but only through a web browser or mobile.
The stories of vulnerabilities in Zoom aren’t new as they have been a part of severe criticism since July 2019 when a macOS flaw made Zoom URL activate the Macbook Webcam. And then fast-forwarding to the global pandemic that rose due to COVID-19, Zoom had to deal with more of lax privacy and security issues.
The latest problems with Zoom include “Zoombombing” - a term given to the practice of how random strangers are locating and jumping into Zoom calls, exposed Zoom recordings, data sharing with Facebook and exposed Linked-In profiles as well. Although the FBI has stepped in and warned people about prosecuting anyone for such acts, the loopholes also highlight the fact that Zoom was also never made to cater to such a massive user base as the growth spiked from 10 million to 200 million users in the past three months.
But with all the negativity going around, Zoom is also acting more and more responsible. Earlier this month, the company announced that they will no longer work on new features and invest in resources to improve privacy and security for its consumers.
Now they are actually fulfilling the promise by announcing to take help from CISOs including HSBC, NTT Data, Procore, and Ellie Mae. Zoom is also setting up an Advisory board with security leaders from VMware, Netflix, Uber, Electronic Arts, and others. There are also chances that Alex Stamos, ex-CSO of Facebook might also join the team of advisors.
Photo: Andrei Stanescu via Getty Images
Read next: Skype Takes on Zoom By Reminding People Ease of Use
