Zoom Security Changes
April 15, 2020
ITS has completed our impact assessment and will be implementing the following default security changes to all registered Zoom user accounts effective Monday April 20, 2020. These settings apply to meetings scheduled through Outlook, Brightspace, and the web portal.
• Password protection on all Meeting IDs (ON)
• Waiting Rooms on all Meeting IDs (ON)
What is Zoom bombing?
There are different iterations of this problem but a common one would be the interruption of a Zoom session by a participant not originally invited to the session. These interruptions include conduct that would be considered a violation of our Respect in the Workplace policy and may be presented to the other participants verbally, via their video feed or sharing of screen content.
How do the new security settings for Zoom affect me?
As a meeting organizer or host, there will be a minor impact to the way you facilitate your meetings. Your participants will see a new Password field in their meeting invitations but will only be required if they join without using the ‘Join Zoom Meeting’ link in your invitation. When hosting a meeting, your participants will reside in a virtual waiting room prior to actually joining where you can admit participants one by one or all at once when ready. This gives you an opportunity to look over those attempting to join your meeting prior to admitting them. For more details please refer to the following video tutorials:
• Password changes - https://youtu.be/t6W3XZ2KAqo
• Waiting Room changes - https://youtu.be/ySas2Rgi6yA
We recognize that in some cases, there may be good reasons for turning these features off. Therefore, we have allowed users to change them on your personal profile at https://zoom.us/signin.
What do I need to do to prepare?
You should always ensure you are using the latest version of the Zoom app. For desktop Windows and MacOS users, you should log into your Zoom app and check for updates by going into Settings then Check for Updates, the latest version is currently v4.6.10 released April 7, 2020. If you use the Outlook plugin, simply close and reopen Outlook which will trigger the auto update or visit http://zoom.us/download and select the Download button under ‘Microsoft Outlook Plugin’, currently v4.8.2 released April 8, 2020. Mobile users should make sure their Google Play Store or Apple App Store are properly checking and maintaining updates for all their apps.
Are there additional support resources available?
Zoom has available free training webinars, videos, and tutorials available on their website at https://zoom.us/docs/en-us/covid19.html. ITS will also have staff available during business hours available to answer your Zoom related questions at https://algonquincollege.zoom.us/my/its.zoom.assist.
Visit the Zoom Resources page.
For all other questions or inquiries, please contact ITS at 613-727-4723 x5555 or 5555@algonquincollege.com.