The COVID-19 pandemic prompted millions of people to stay at home, and as a result, the popularity of the video conferencing app Zoom has skyrocketed. However, the software has also courted controversy because of all the security and privacy issues it raises.
The Zoom team has now announced intentions to implement a feature freeze for 90 days while it works to fix these issues (h/t The Verge). In other words, for the next three months, it won’t be adding any new features and will instead focus its resources on resolving privacy and security-related problems.
In an effort to improve the service, the corporation has also made a number of other announcements. These steps include security evaluations with both users and outside experts, a strengthened bug bounty program, and a weekly webinar to update users on security and privacy.
The Zoom team affirmed that a transparency report describing demands for data and content would be sent as scheduled. This would be consistent with a number of other significant businesses, like Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
The company currently has over 200 million daily meeting users across its free and paid tiers, according to Zoom CEO Eric Yuan. At the end of December, according to Yuan, the company had around 10 million daily meeting users, demonstrating the service’s rapid expansion.
This month, the video conferencing app was in the news for both its rapid expansion and privacy and security concerns. “Zoombombing,” sending device data to Facebook, and a lack of end-to-end encryption are a few of these problems.
In an effort to kick-start, a conversation about privacy and security best practices, Zoom will also establish the Chief Information Security Officer Council with prominent CISOs. White box penetration testing will also be performed on the platform to identify and fix any privacy and security problems. Additionally, Yuan will host a weekly webinar to present updates on privacy and security.
“Our culture has always placed a high value on transparency. I promise to be upfront and truthful with you about the ways in which we are enhancing our platform and the ways in which users can take independent action to make the most of and safeguard themselves on the platform.
He stated, “We welcome your ongoing inquiries and invite you to offer us feedback. “We treat them with the utmost respect. We are investigating each and every one of them and responding to them as soon as we can. We’re determined to grow from them and improve moving forward.
