Schools In New York Are Banning Zoom Over Security Concerns

Zoom has been discovered to contain quite a bit of vulnerabilities regarding its security and privacy. More recently, it seems that the app has been found to be routing some of its calls made in North America through China, which has raised some concerns regarding the privacy of the app.

So much so that according to reports, it appears that some schools in New York are now banning the video conferencing app from being used, citing security concerns. According to Danielle Filson, a spokesperson for the New York City Dept. of Education, “Providing a safe and secure remote learning experience for our students is essential, and upon further review of security concerns, schools should move away from using Zoom as soon as possible.”

Filson adds, “There are many new components to remote learning, and we are making real-time decisions in the best interest of our staff and students.” Zoom has seen a recent explosion in popularity due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has forced a lot of businesses and schools to close, sending workers and students to work and study from home.

One of the main appeals of the app is its ability to host as many as 100 users at the same time for video calls, making it ideal for larger companies and schools. However, it appears that the app’s issues with privacy and security are now forcing companies and organizations to rethink its use, although to Zoom’s credit, they have recently pledged to spend the next 90 days fixing its problems.

Whether or not they’ll be able to resolve these issues in time before they lose too many users remains to be seen. In the meantime, companies like Microsoft and Google have been stepping up by improving on its own video calling services like Skype and Duo.

Tyler Lee
Categories: General
Tags: Apps, Education, Privacy, Security, zoom