Technology

Looking for a more safe tool, Zoom acquires secure messaging service Keybase

Zoom intents to consolidate end-to-end encrypted communication, easily deployable security and enterprise-scale communication in 90 days

Zoom is making a 90-day plan to restructure security in the platform. Photo: Shutterstock

LABS

08.May.2020 18:00 BRT

Zoom is taking steps to improve its security after several safety breach accusations;
The company plans to build end-to-end encryption.

The video conference tool Zoom announced it had acquired Keybase, a secure messaging and file-sharing service, in order to ramp up its security efforts. Since isolation measures pushed people to use the platform much more than before the coronavirus pandemic, Zoom has faced several security breach accusations.

Its 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.” According to the company, now this acquisition will accelerate Zoom’s plan to build end-to-end encryption that can reach Zoom’s current scalability.

There are end-to-end encrypted communications platforms. There are communications platforms with easily deployable security. There are enterprise-scale communications platforms. We believe that no current platform offers all of these. This is what Zoom plans to build, giving our users security, ease of use, and scale, all at once
Eric S. Yuan, CEO of Zoom

Zoom’s CEO said in a statement that bringing on a cohesive group of security engineers like Keybase ones significantly advances the company’s 90-day plan to enhance security efforts.