Most of the schools and companies in Malaysia are using Zoom for e-learning and meetings nowadays due to the movement control order ( MCO). But, Zoom users, please take note! According to The Washington Post, Thousands of Zoom video call recordings have been left exposed online.
Among some videos that the news outlet sighted included personal therapy sessions, company business meetings involving private financial records, and online classes where schoolchildren’s details were visible to anyone viewing the recordings.
The report stated that the videos can be viewed and downloaded through a “simple online search” because Zoom video recordings are named in an identical way, making it all too easy for anyone so inclined to download and view thousands more such videos.
Those videos may have been recorded through Zoom’s own software and stored onto separate online storage space without passwords, and that the leak does not affect videos that remain with Zoom’s own system.
But, Zoom videos are not recorded by default, but those hosting video calls can choose to record them and save to either Zoom servers or their own computers without participants’ consent. Participants will receive a notification when a host starts to record.
Privacy software company Disconnect’s technology chief Patrick Jackson, who is also a former researcher for the US National Security Agency, alerted the news outlet about the exposed Zoom video recordings, saying he believed that Zoom could “do a better job” at reminding users to protect their videos.
He suggested that the company change the naming convention of the videos to make them “harder to find”.
Thnx @drewharwell @washingtonpost for bringing to light this important issue. It was surprising to find so many (thousands!) of recorded Zoom video calls never meant for public eyes. Only record video calls if you absolutely need to and always secure them wherever they're hosted. https://t.co/Ebojw2tPrg
— Patrick Jackson (@patjack) April 3, 2020
He also urged other users to “only record video calls if you absolutely need to and always secure them wherever they’re hosted”.
While , Zoom spoke person told The Washington Post that it “provides a safe and secure way for hosts to store recordings” and provides guidelines on how users can enhance their call security.
“Should hosts later choose to upload their meeting recordings anywhere else, we urge them to use extreme caution and be transparent with meeting participants, giving careful consideration to whether the meeting contains sensitive information and to participants’ reasonable expectations.”
Source : The Washington Post