Now that everyone's using Zoom, here are some privacy risks you need to watch out for:
Now that you've finished choosing your custom Zoom background, mercifully sparing your fellow workers-from-home the sight of a growing pile of gym socks behind your desk, you might think you've got a handle on the conference call software du jour. Unfortunately, there are a few other data security considerations to make if you want to hide your dirty laundry.
Privacy experts have previously expressed concerns about Zoom: In 2019, the video-conferencing software experienced both a webcam hacking scandal, and a bug that allowed snooping users to potentially join video meetings they hadn't been invited to. This month, the Electronic Frontier Foundation cautioned users working from home about the software's onboard privacy features.
[...]Here are some of the privacy vulnerabilities in Zoom that you should watch out for while working remotely.
[...] Tattle-Tale
Whether you're using Zoom's desktop client or mobile app, a meeting host can enable a built-in option which alerts them if any attendees go more than 30 seconds without Zoom being in focus on their screen.
[...] Cloud snitching
For paid subscribers, Zoom's cloud recording feature [allows] a host [to] record the meeting along with its text transcription and a text file of any active chats in that meeting, and save it to the cloud where it can later be accessed by other authorized users at your company, including people who may have never attended the meeting in question.[...] Data Gossip
[...] An analysis by Vice's Motherboard, published Thursday, found the iOS version of the Zoom [...] was telling Facebook whenever you opened the Zoom app, what phone or device you were using, and your phone carrier, location and a unique advertising identifier. Late Friday, Motherboard reported that Zoom had updated its iOS app so the app would stop sending certain data to Facebook.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by richtopia on Sunday March 29 2020, @08:00PM (1 child)
There are others, but when I need a quick video conference/screen share solution I turn to Jitsi Meet (https://meet.jit.si). I don't host my own but they do have instructions if you are concerned for your privacy. Using Jitisi Meet is a very easy experience most, follow the link to connect.
(Score: 2) by gtomorrow on Sunday March 29 2020, @08:09PM
JITSI?? I didn't know that still existed!
I used to play with that just before Skype gained popularity (~15 years ago maybe?). I was always disappointed though: performance wasn't great, IIRC you had to sign up for a SIP number (which wasn't effortless) and...who the hell used it? I'm having enough trouble getting people to use Signal!