• Lack of end-to-end encryption, leak of emails from users and a privacy policy that allowed data collection for advertising purposes were among the accusations about the platform;
• While pledging to address and fix issues proactively, Zoom’s CEO also committed to being transparent throughout the whole process.

Remote work demand, or simply social isolation during the mandatory quarantine, has been surely driving the growth of videoconference platforms these days. One of them is the California-based Zoom, which saw its shares climb as much as 44% since January 21, as LABS reported in March.

Drawing tons of new users seeking a toll for video communication, the tech company, however, has been facing scrutiny over security and privacy matters. Lack of end-to-end encryption, leak of emails from users and a privacy policy that allowed data collection for advertising purposes – to start with.

After several security breach accusations, founder and CEO Eric S. Yuan has given a position statement about the topic, saying “we recognize that we have fallen short of the community’s – and our own – privacy and security expectations. For that, I am deeply sorry, and I want to share what we are doing about it,” in a company blogpost. Claiming that the platform was not designed “with the foresight that, in a matter of weeks, every person in the world would suddenly be working, studying, and socializing from home,” Yuan admitted that Zoom is now facing challenges that they didn’t anticipate when the platform was created.

READ ALSO: Remote work boost the usage of tools such as Rocket.chat, Zoom, and Slack

“Over the next 90 days, we are committed to dedicating the resources needed to better identify, address, and fix issues proactively. We are also committed to being transparent throughout this process,” the executive pledged in the note, adding that will work with third-party experts and users to understand the security needs of all user profiles.

Other steps include preparing a transparency report – probably in response to investigations that the New York attorney general’s office has conducted on Zoom’s problems – and improving the company’s bug rewards program. Creating a council in partnership with leading CISOs (Chief information security officers) from across the industry to gather privacy best practices was also disclosed in Zoom’s statement.