The world is still waiting for brilliant minds to discover the right vaccine to fight the COVID-19. Countries all over the world resort to community quarantine to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus, as well as to flatten the curve. Because of this, many activities got canceled, and institutions come up with several ingenious ways to provide their services, one of these is by using Zoom to teach students.
The American remote conferencing company, Zoom Video Communication, has received an overwhelming number of users because of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Zoom offers a remote conferencing service that mixes mobile collaboration, online meetings, chat, and video conferencing. The app can be easily accessed through a unique link, which makes it attractive for large groups.
Since schools have resorted to remote classrooms to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, most used Zoom. However, this feature also makes the platform more susceptible to random and offensive intrusions. Otherwise known as zoombombing, this practice triggered concerns as trolls and hackers surface in various Zoom calls.
There are times that these hackers share obscene materials or spam that affected a lot of online classes. Not only that, but several reports also claimed that zoombombing was observed in corporate gatherings and even in meetings held by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Over the past week, several concerns have been raised on the security risk and privacy of the popular app.
It prompted the FBI to warn users while the New York Attorney general recently demanded the company to heighten its user privacy. A few days ago, the Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza said that the use of Zoom is now prohibited. The department's decision, according to Carranza, is based on the security and privacy issues of the cloud-based app.
In a report released by Chalkbeat, New York's Department of Education is recommending the use of Microsoft Teams, which it has already begun training teachers to use. More so, unlike Zoom, Microsoft Team is compliant with student privacy laws, as well as with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. But, some say that the platform is not as attractive as Zoom and could, at times, reduce the teacher's ability to provide live lessons.
The company immediately responded to privacy and security issues that plagued Zoom. Recently, it released additional measures to make sure meeting links would not get hacked. Beginning Apr. 5, Zoom users would be required a password in order to join a meeting. Also, instead of the invite link. Users will get the meeting ID.
