Recently, a lot of news outlets published articles on the security vulnerabilities in Zoom. With the coronavirus forcing nearly everyone to stay home, many companies and people started using Zoom to help maintain communication. This resulted in 200 million daily meeting participants in March, up from the 10 million users it reported in December. They didn’t foresee that happening.
Security Vulnerabilities in Zoom
The issue is that many security researchers and cybercriminals found vulnerabilities they could exploit. One Windows vulnerability could allow someone to exploit the chat feature to steal login details. Exclusions don’t include Mac devices. One such vulnerability would allow someone to hijack a user’s device to give control of the webcam and microphone.
Eric Yaun, the CEO, stated that they will need to focus on identifying security vulnerabilities in Zoom, and addressing them quickly.
“Our platform was built primarily for enterprise customers,” Yuan said. “We did not design the product with the foresight that, in a matter of weeks, every person in the world would suddenly be working, studying, and socializing from home. Therefore, we now have a much broader set of users who are utilizing our product in a myriad of unexpected ways, presenting us with challenges we did not anticipate when the platform was conceived.”
The Fix
Exponential growth can happen to any company, with the right circumstances. In conclusion, it’s better to conduct penetration testing and vulnerability scanning before the growth happens. It’s better for users and better for PR.