Zoom not a safe platform: MHA issues advisory on usage of the app

Video conferencing app Zoom has been in the middle of a privacy storm in the past couple of weeks. Now, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an advisory cautioning individuals on the safe usage of the app.

According to advisory, MHA has deemed Zoom as an unsafe platform and it is asking individuals using the video conferencing app to adhere to certain security settings in a bid to safeguard their meetings from malicious attackers.

The ministry in a two-page long document is asking to enable security settings, such as the Lock Meeting feature, while on a conference call to safeguard their data. The ministry has also detailed a list of checks or the features that users can adhere to in order to safeguard their meetings and their data from hackers.

Here is the list of checks shared by the MHA:

-- Setting new user ID and password for each

meeting.

-- Enabling the Waiting Room feature in order to ensure that a user can enter only when the host conducting the meeting permits him to.

-- Disabling join before host feature.

-- Allowing screen sharing by host only.

-- Disabling "Allow removed participants to re-join" feature.

-- Restricting file transfer option.

-- Restricting recording feature.

-- Ending the meeting and not just leaving it.

The MHA said that that adhering to these safety practices would not only prevent unauthorised entry into the meeting rooms, but it would also DOS attacks and prevent authorised people to carry out malicious tasks within various conferences.

It is worth noting that the document on the usage of Zoom app comes weeks after the Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In) issued an advisory on the safety issues of the video conferencing app. "Insecure usage of the platform (Zoom) may allow cyber criminals to access sensitive information such as meeting details and conversations," the cyber security agency said in its advisory urging users to enable features such as Waiting Room and Scheduling Privilege while using the video conferencing platform.