Live data from Hacker News

Trolls break into meetings on Zoom

businessinsider.com

11–20 of 302 posts

Re: Trolls break into meetings on Zoom

#11
post #3

I attended a PhD defense yesterday that got zoom bombed. They quickly moved it to an actively managed call and the presenter did a fine job of keeping their composure and getting back on track. Now we're circulating guides about how to set up secure rooms and webinars, so I don't anticipate this will happen again. Normally I'd wave this off as a childish prank, but both the URL and loading screen prominently indicate…

> Bombing this meeting in particular seems to be in especially bad taste during a pandemic

Either that... or it's a way to get high profile attention to blatant security issues in a commonly used business meeting tool where sometimes sensitive information is shared.

Re: Trolls break into meetings on Zoom

#12
post #4

I think the progression here is "Zoom has privacy concerns" -> "Zoom operates like macOS malware" -> "Zoom gets trolled".

No, this has been ongoing. For instance, from six days ago: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-25/zoombomb...

The progression is "People start doing a ton of things over an insecure system" -> "trolls start harassing people". This isn't some sort of reaction to anything about Zoom the company or the software.

Re: Trolls break into meetings on Zoom

#14
post #11
post #3

I attended a PhD defense yesterday that got zoom bombed. They quickly moved it to an actively managed call and the presenter did a fine job of keeping their composure and getting back on track. Now we're circulating guides about how to set up secure rooms and webinars, so I don't anticipate this will happen again. Normally I'd wave this off as a childish prank, but both the URL and loading screen prominently indicate…

> Bombing this meeting in particular seems to be in especially bad taste during a pandemic Either that... or it's a way to get high profile attention to blatant security issues in a commonly used business meeting tool where sometimes sensitive information is shared.

People are not trolling Zoom meetings as part of a high-minded awareness campaign.

Re: Trolls break into meetings on Zoom

#15
post #8
post #5

This is like 5th topic about Zoom today.

When your product goes from being "a videoconferencing tool used in some workplaces" to "the primary way people communicate and gather for personal or professional reasons", it makes sense that there will be a lot of stories about it (good, bad and neutral) in the press.

>"the primary way people communicate and gather for personal or professional reasons",

I would be curious to see an article about why this happened? Is Zoom better than their countless competitors? They all seem pretty similar in my experience so why is it Zoom that is blowing up because of this and not any of the other companies?

Re: Trolls break into meetings on Zoom

#16
post #14
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Bombing this meeting in particular seems to be in especially bad taste during a pandemic Either that... or it's a way to get high profile attention to blatant security issues in a commonly used business meeting tool where sometimes sensitive information is shared.

People are not trolling Zoom meetings as part of a high-minded awareness campaign.

Maybe... maybe not. It sure is bringing about awareness though, isn't it?

Re: Trolls break into meetings on Zoom

#19
post #15
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When your product goes from being "a videoconferencing tool used in some workplaces" to "the primary way people communicate and gather for personal or professional reasons", it makes sense that there will be a lot of stories about it (good, bad and neutral) in the press.

>"the primary way people communicate and gather for personal or professional reasons", I would be curious to see an article about why this happened? Is Zoom better than their countless competitors? They all seem pretty similar in my experience so why is it Zoom that is blowing up because of this and not any of the other companies?

I've used a fair amount of WebEx (hosting and attending "meetings"). I don't particularly like WebEx, but Zoom feels like a cheap knockoff in comparison. I think Zoom is doing a better job marketing to individuals than the older players in the market.
Post reply on HN