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Zoom Enhanced Security & Feature Updates

16 June 2020
By Ashwin Rangan

Following a number of updates to Zoom in the past weeks, we felt that this would be a good time to review both ICANN org’s and the ICANN community’s usage of the application. You may recall our message last month alerting you to some of the coming changes to Zoom, including their move to GCM encryption as their new standard. Zoom has switched all meetings to GCM encryption as of 30 May and is requiring all users to update to Zoom 5.0 or later. This change to the software’s encryption method was vital, and it has increased our confidence in the platform immensely.

Another recent change ICANN has made is enabling recording disclaimers by default. This prompts a small pop-up when a recording is started in Zoom, which includes an acceptance of our privacy policy, terms of service, and consent to be recorded. It is our hope that this small change empowers attendees by providing quick access and more control over the acceptance of our policies as it relates to attending virtual meetings.

Finally, embedded password links for password protected sessions have been brought back by popular demand. In May, these were disabled out of an abundance of caution. However, after examining Zoom’s recent updates, along with our own settings configuration, we’ve decided it is acceptable to re-enable the links. Please use these links cautiously, only share them on secure channels such as encrypted chat or encrypted e-mail, and never post them publicly.

As Zoom continues to change and evolve as a platform, ICANN will continue to discover and define our “new normal” for virtual meetings. We welcome your feedback on Zoom and meeting security. Please reach out to mts@icann.org with any comments, observations, or questions.

Authors

Ashwin Rangan

Ashwin Rangan