The US-based Zoom Video conference App made record downloads 131 million in April, where India accounted for the highest number of users, followed by the US. Data from the research firm ‘Sensor Tower’ has suggested that 18.2 % of the total Zoom downloads in April were in India.
The App gained much popularity despite the government warning in April itself against its official use and various security issues. Another popular Chinese App, ‘TikTok,’ was the most downloaded, to which India contributed 22% of the total downloads. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) warned the users of the privacy breaches of the Zoom App. However, it didn’t stop the App from making the maximum record of downloads in India for April.
Zoom App a hit among virtual workplaces and online classes
Amidst the nationwide lockdown in India since March 24, people have resorted to working from home, and schools have switched to online classes for their students. Zoom has been widely used throughout the country for conferences, meetings, and virtual classrooms. In order to adhere to social distancing norms in the country, the workplaces have become virtual with Apps like Zoom and Google Meet, take care of work meetings and discussions. In addition, friends and families throughout the world are using the Zoom App to keep in touch while staying physically apart in the times of the pandemic. Schools across the country are conducting virtual classes with the help of the Zoom App, which helps the teachers communicate with a large group of students at one time.
‘Zoombombing’ poses a threat to the Apps Safety
However, this massive uptake of Zoom has also presented major security clashes and privacy concerns. There have been cases of uninvited participants popping up in calls, with harassing content to abuse the users, which have put a question on the credibility of using the non-secure Zoom meetings.
Related: Zoom Will Enable Waiting Rooms To Stop Zoombombing
On April 12, the Ministry of Home Affairs Cyber Coordination center issued an advisory stressing that the App is unsafe and should not be used by Government offices/organizations. Also, India’s National Cyber Security Agency cautioned the users who were using the App to ensure safety measures to avoid potential risks of hacking and other malpractices while using the App. The critics even created names like ‘Zoombombing’ referring to incidents of random strangers entering the calls with objectionable content.
Zoom acquires ‘Keybase’ to guard up security
However, Zoom too announced security updates of the App to deck up its encryption measures. In a bid to enhance the privacy and security concerns, Zoom recently acquired security start-up ‘Keybase,’ earmarking it’s first-ever purchase since the company was launched nine years ago.
The acquisition, too, took place on Zoom Video calls, as the deal could not be signed on a table, given the social distancing rules. Zoom CEO ‘Eric Yuan’ said that the company would be providing a solution for its users who want the highest level of privacy, with no unwanted intruders in their conversation. He mentioned that security is his primary focus for the past month. He also hired former Facebook security chief ‘Alex Stamos’ as a consultant to beef up his company’s security practices. He also apologized for the company falling short on the privacy and security concerns and said that he was not expecting the 30 fold surge Zoom had received since December last year.
