With Zoom being the most used video-conferencing app amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the platform has been marred with security issues in the past few weeks. Now, Zoom has released a new, large-scale update that will help address most concerns that people have.
“Today, we announced robust security enhancements with the upcoming general availability of Zoom 5.0, a key milestone in our 90-day plan to proactively identify, address, and enhance security and privacy capabilities of the Zoom platform. By adding support for AES 256-bit GCM encryption, Zoom will provide increased protection for meeting data and resistance against tampering.”
The level of protection that the platform has added is top class, and it is similar to the one used by the US government to protect classified documents (AES 256-bit), GCM (Galois Counter Mode) on the other hand, it will enhance optimal performance.
This added protection will lower the possibility of anyone outside the meeting, stealing your data, or have access to your content. Additionally, Zoom is adding a new provision that will allow users to decide which data center regions their webinars and account-hosted meetings use, which will provide more control on this front.
That's not all; Zoom is also adding more options for reporting problems, improved access to security controls, waiting rooms and passwords by default, and more data control options.
With how easy it is to use, plus quality streaming capacity, Zoom has become the top choice for most people during the lockdown. It went from ten million daily users in December 2019 to about 200 million users in March 2020.
As its use has increased, so has scrutiny and security risk. Some of its users have been exposed to offensive content via Zoombombing, which saw uninvited guests drop in random Zoom chats. Zoom promised to address this issue earlier this month, and this new release will address most of the problems.
The platform still has some issues it needs to address, which is understandable, given that it was not designed to be a consumer-facing app. Its quick action in addressing the most significant issues is quite encouraging, though. Most Zoom users will definitely feel safer using the new Zoom 5.0 that will have the security update. The AES encryption will be enabled system-wide by the end of May 2020.
