Taiwan becomes one of the first governments to ban the use of the popular video-conferencing app, Zoom, due to security concerns. A statement released by Taiwan’s cabinet on Tuesday urged agencies to avoid using services such as Zoom as they may have security flaws.
Individuals and governments, including Taiwan, have been using Zoom in an effort to reduce person-to-person contact amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Taiwan ban comes as the latest blow for the San Jose-based Zoom Video Communication.inc as it continues to struggle to meet the high demand for its services.
Millions of people around the world have turned to it as they study and work from home amid the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But cybersecurity experts have warned that there might be security loopholes in Zoom’s software that could allow hackers to eavesdrop meetings or even commandeer the connected machines to get access to secure files.
Taiwan is not the first to ban the use of the app. New York City’s Department of Education has also done the same.
Zoom routed a part of its data through China-based servers and also used developers from there, Citizen Lab, an internet security think tank said on a report released last week. Any official data routed through China poses a major security risk to Taiwan.
Beijing claims that Taiwan is part of its territory, and it threatens to invade if the self-ruling island moves to make its independence official. Taiwan government, on the other hand, does not recognize China’s claim and views the island as a sovereign nation.
