Hackers disrupting video conferences on Zoom with porn: FBI

New York: As businesses, schools and colleges and millions of SMBs use video conferencing tool Zoom during the work-from-home scenario, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned people about porn material being popped up during the video meetings.

The Boston branch of the law enforcement agency said it has received multiple reports of conferences being disrupted by pornographic and/or hate images and threatening language.

"As large numbers of people turn to video-teleconferencing (VTC) platforms to stay connected in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, reports of VTC hijacking (also called "Zoom-bombing") are emerging nationwide,' the FBI said in a statement.

In late March 2020, a Massachusetts-based high school reported that while a teacher was conducting an online class using the teleconferencing software Zoom, an unidentified individual(s) dialed into the classroom.

"This individual yelled a profanity and then shouted the teacher's home address in the middle of instruction," said the FBI.

A second Massachusetts-based school reported a Zoom meeting being accessed by an unidentified individual. In this incident, the individual was visible on the video camera and displayed swastika tattoos.

"As individuals continue the transition to online lessons and meetings, the FBI recommends exercising due diligence and caution in your cybersecurity efforts," said the law enforcement agency. Zoom was yet to respond the FBI statement.

With more and more people working from home due the novel coronavirus pandemic, Zoom Cloud Meetings topped download charts globally throughout February and March, according to data from app analytics platform App Annie.

Zoom offers video and screen sharing for up to 100 people.

According to media reports, Zoom is facing massive privacy and security backlash globally.

The FBI said do not make meetings or classrooms public on Zoom.

In Zoom, there are two options to make a meeting private: require a meeting password or use the waiting room feature and control the admittance of guests.

"Do not share a link to a teleconference or classroom on an unrestricted publicly available social media post. Provide the link directly to specific people".

Manage screensharing options. In Zoom, change screensharing to "Host Only."

The video conferencing app late last month updated its iOS app to remove the software development kit (SDK) that was providing users data to Facebook through the Login with Facebook feature.

A network traffic analysis carried out by Motherboard revealed that Zoom for iOS was sending data to Facebook without making any mention of the practice in its privacy policy.