‘Zoombombing’ Disrupting Meetings

UTRGV – As work meetings and classes are moving to the video conferencing application Zoom, it is also giving hackers a chance to manipulate these video sessions. Known as ‘zoombombing’, unknown strangers enter video conferences to use profane language or draw obscene images onto the screen. The executive director of Academic Services shares some features Zoom offers for a safer environment. 

“So, that’s the new security feature that they’ve introduced that allows you to do different things within the Zoom meeting,” said Robert Allen. “You can put me back in the waiting room, you can remove me. You can also forbid me from recording the meeting.”

UTRGV emailed professors instructional documents on ways to secure a Zoom meeting. Professors can set a password for the meeting, allowing only those with the code to be able to join. 

Allen says another way professors can stay safe is by locking the meeting. This feature prevents anyone from entering the meeting, even if they have the password. 

He says these features will help UTRGV professors, quote, “protect the integrity of instruction.”

“They’re important from the standpoint of being able to control the classroom. So, what we’ve done with these Zoom safety features is given them a similar control of the classroom that they would’ve had if they were on campus,” said Allen.

Allen mentions hosts can remove any participant by clicking on the participant tab, “more”, then on the remove option. Hosts also have the control to decide who can enter the meeting. If they don’t recognize a name, they can easily decline the request. 

Psychology student, Dulce Mendoza, says she feels safe in her online classes knowing that professors can use these features.

“I actually like more security. It’s better to have more than, like, for it being really lenient,” said Mendoza. “ Like, I think it’s good on them that they get to have that say-so, like ‘this person should be here, this one shouldn’t.”

Allen said since the transition to Zoom, there have been two zoombombing instances that were done to faculty on the first week. He states there is a higher probability of being “zoombombed” when using the original, free Zoom software rather than the UTRGV paid-for version. 

Allen says the university is working on a possible transition to Microsoft Teams for 2021, seeing how it’s integrated within Office 365.

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