Zoom has been working hard to overcome their security issues over the last few months. One of the things that they needed to address is the fact that communications were not end to end encrypted, even though the company claimed that they were. The company finally admitted that this was something that needed to be addressed. And it looks like that end to end encryption is about to be lit up, assuming that you have the latest version of the Zoom app, and you happen to be a paying customer:
The company, whose business has boomed with the coronavirus pandemic, discussed the move on a call with civil liberties groups and child-sex abuse fighters on Thursday, and Zoom security consultant Alex Stamos confirmed it on Friday.
In an interview, Stamos said the plan was subject to change and it was not yet clear which, if any, nonprofits or other users, such as political dissidents, might qualify for accounts allowing more secure video meetings.
He added that a combination of technological, safety and business factors went into the plan, which drew mixed reactions from privacy advocates.
Now I can look at this two ways:
- It makes sense that Zoom would focus this on paying customers. After all, that is what keeps the lights on. It also gets rid of the people who are hogging resources related to the free tier of the app which likely costs Zoom money.
- Other apps like iMessage, WhatsApp, and Signal offer end to end encryption for free.
You’ll note that the plan is subject to change. I suspect that it may change based on either the blowback that they get, or if people on the free tier abandon the platform for another video chat solution en masse.
My take is that I think that Zoom is doing the right thing. Yes there’s going to be blowback from some who think Zoom should enable end to end encryption for all. But that’s really not viable in my opinion. Zoom is a business and not a charity. At some point they have to pay for all the security improvements that are going into the app. And if you want want those security improvements, you need to pay up. So I would suggest that users who are on the free tier of Zoom who want these improvements should put their money where their mouths are.
Zoom Suspended The Accounts Of Hong Kong Activists At The Request Of China… Now Congress Wants To Know More
Posted in Commentary with tags Zoom on June 12, 2020 by itnerdIt seems that Zoom cannot stay out of the news for all the wrong reasons. This time Zoom is in hot water because Zoom issued a statement on Thursday acknowledging that the Chinese government requested that it suspend the accounts of several U.S.- and Hong Kong-based Chinese activists for holding events commemorating the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre:
Recent articles in the media about adverse actions we took toward Lee Cheuk-yan, Wang Dan, and Zhou Fengsuo have some calling into question our commitment to being a platform for an open exchange of ideas and conversations. To be clear, their accounts have been reinstated, and going forward, we will have a new process for handling similar situations.
We will do better as we strive to make Zoom the most secure and trusted way to bring people together.
Now if you read the rest of the blog post, Zoom acknowledges that they screwed up here. And that they are going to take corrective actions:
Now that isn’t good enough for some. Three U.S. lawmakers asked Zoom to clarify its data-collection practices and relationship with the Chinese government:
Representatives Greg Walden, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the ranking member of a consumer subcommittee, sent a letter to Zoom CEO Eric Yuan on Thursday asking him to clarify the company’s data practices, whether any was shared with Beijing and whether it encrypted users’ communications.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley also wrote to Yuan asking him to “pick a side” between the United States and China.
The three politicians have previously expressed concerns about TikTok’s owner, Chinese firm ByteDance, which is being scrutinized by U.S. regulators over the personal data the short video app handles.
Seeing as this is an election year, I would not be at all surprised if Congressional Hearings were called and Zoom CEO Eric Yuan was called onto the carpet. Because if Yuan thought his blog post would put out the fire related to this latest scandal, he’d be wrong.
1 Comment »