Zoom is cracking down on Zoom-bombers, otherwise known as disruptive individuals who crash random video calls. The platform’s new security features notify hosts about high-risk meetings, as well as allow users to report and suspend troublemaking participants.
Zoom’s New Security Measures Target Zoom-Bombers
If your video conferences have ever been interrupted by trolls, you’ll be happy to hear that Zoom’s new security features specifically target Zoom-bombers. These Zoom pranksters take advantage of unprotected calls and pop in to crash conferences.
Matt Nagel, Zoom’s security and PR lead, announced the changes in a post on the Zoom Blog. Not only can hosts remove a participant, but anyone on the call can now report that participant as well. The platform is also rolling out a tool, the At-Risk Meeting Notifier, to identify especially vulnerable calls.
How to Suspend and Report Users on Zoom
If you’re the host or co-host of a call and you encounter a disruptive participant, you’ll need to be prepared to remove them.
To throw out a participant, head to the Security button at the bottom of the call, and click Suspend Participant Activities. Doing so will pause your meeting’s audio, video, text chat, screen sharing, recording, and annotation. Breakout Rooms will also be stopped.
From there, you’ll get the option to report the user, share a screenshot with Zoom, and add any other information. Clicking Submit will remove that participant, and the incident will be reported to Zoom’s Trust and Safety team. You can then return to your meeting by toggling all of the call’s features back on.
Zoom is also giving all users the power to report other participants (hosts and co-hosts can already do this). Admins first have to toggle this feature on, which will then enable all users on the call to report disruptive participants from the Security icon at the top left corner of the screen.
What About the At-Risk Meeting Notifier?
Lastly, Zoom is also trying to keep video calls secure by employing a tool called the At-Risk Meeting Notifier. This feature detects whether publicly shared links to Zoom Meetings are “at high risk of being disrupted.”
If it turns out to be a high-risk call, Zoom will notify the host by email, and will provide suggestions on how to secure the call.
Keeping Your Zoom Calls Secure
Zoom grew unexpectedly, which meant that the platform wasn’t exactly prepared for the number of problems its new audience would encounter.
For one, Zoom lacked the security measures it said it had, leading the Federal Trade Commission to file a complaint. This forced Zoom to increase its security protections, which it is clearly doing with these new enhancements.
