UK Faculty Members Warned of Zoom Bombing, Learn How to Prevent It
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 1, 2020) — Zoom bombing. It’s the latest activity of people wreaking havoc in the digital world, especially now that the videoconferencing platform Zoom is being used so widely during remote working and learning as the result of COVID-19.
University of Kentucky officials want to make sure that faculty and student users of Zoom know how to successfully prevent Zoom bombing from happening to them.
A recent story in Inside Higher Ed recounted an incident where a professor at Arizona State University was the victim of Zoom bombing when a participant in his class Zoom session used a feature to display pornographic and racist images.
Most of these cyberattack problems seem to lie in uninvited class attendees getting access to the viewing sessions, often because the Zoom link has been shared on a public forum. But there are ways to prevent Zoom bombing.
Below are tips and links with information on how to protect yourself and combat Zoom Bombing:
- Do not share your meeting link on social media or any public forum.
- Avoid using your Personal Meeting ID (PMI) in public events. The PMI is basically one continuous meeting and if someone has access to that, they can join any Zoom session you host.
- Allow only signed-in users to join (https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360037117472-Authentication-Profiles-for-Meetings-and-Webinars?zcid=1231).
- Lock the meeting (https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362603-Host-and-Co-Host-Controls-in-a-Meeting?zcid=1231).
- Remove unwanted participants and prevent them from rejoining (https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005759423-Managing-participants-in-a-meeting?zcid=1231).
- Prevent participants from screen sharing (https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115005759423?zcid=1231&_ga=2.254562570.309741066.1584962366-1130343218.1583928558)
For more information on Zoom etiquette, visit: https://learnanywhere.uky.edu/sites/default/files/2020-03/Zoom%20Etiquette%20Guide.pdf.
Countless resources are available on technology, online teaching tips, communication, well-being and more at these sites — Teach Anywhere: https://teachanywhere.uky.edu/; Learn Anywhere: https://learnanywhere.uky.edu/; and Work Anywhere: https://workanywhere.uky.edu/.
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