Zoom security issues dominated our news feeds as 2020 came to a close. If you read every report, you likely became concerned that every meeting you attended somehow left you open to hackers and grifters.
We have good news.
Zoom officials read those reports too. In most cases, they patched problems within days. Few issues we heard about in the spring remain active today.
But you can still take commonsense steps to address Zoom security issues in meetings scheduled in 2021 and beyond. We'll tell you just what to do.
Zoom’s overall security landscape
Everything changed in 2020. The pandemic closed schools, shuttered offices, and closed yoga studios. Every meeting we had in person moved online. Most of us used Zoom for those meetings.
Zoom's growth was explosive. In December of 2019, Zoom hosted about 10 million daily meeting participants. In March of 2020, that number rose to 200 million.
Zoom's developers built their program with connection in mind. Their ideal user was:
- Corporate. These savvy people held formal meetings with clients or partners.
- Supported. They had IT departments supervising the work.
- Connected. Zoom was just one toolkit for these people. They could hold some meetings in person.
As the pandemic dragged on, everyone used Zoom. And sometimes, the platform stretched to meet needs the developers never envisioned. For example, few people imagined a day when court cases would be settled via Zoom. And no one thought a Zoom call would serve as a classroom for thousands of American children.
Hackers took advantage, and Zoom security breaches did occur.
Major Zoom security incidents
Just what sorts of things went wrong for chronic Zoom users? Let's walk through a few known incidents.
Known Zoom security breaches involved: