Singapore stops teachers using Zoom, cites ‘very serious incidents’

Singapore will ban teachers’ use of the video conferencing app Zoom, citing “very serious incidents” that have occurred on the platform that have cast doubt on the app’s security.

The education ministry highlighted instances of indecency and misuse by intruders disrupting online lessons, Reuters reported.

Incidents were reported by local Singapore media sources, including obscene images and vulgar comments made during a class lesson with teenage girls present.

Throughout the world, private companies like Google and SpaceX, as well as national governments have suspended the use of Zoom, all describing similar security breaches and flaws.

“These are very serious incidents. MOE (Ministry of Education) is currently investigating both breaches and will lodge a police report if warranted,” said Aaron Loh of the Singapore’s ministry educational technology division.

“As a precautionary measure, our teachers will suspend their use of Zoom until these security issues are ironed out,” Loh added.

The government of Singapore has also been using the app for video conferencing.

The most significant threat Zoom presents is its lack of end-to-end encryption during meeting sessions, resulting in the new “zoom bombing” trend where uninvited guests disrupt meetings on the platform.

Berkeley High School officials in California also have suspended use of the app after a “naked adult male using racial slurs” entered a classroom meeting that was reportedly password-protected.

The company is facing multiple class-action lawsuits, the most recent one filed by a shareholder after Zoom faced massive drops in the market due to the security controversy.

Zoom said the company is working on a 90-day plan to reinforce privacy and security concerns and has also contacted former Facebook security chief Alex Stamos to be an adviser on the project, according to the report.

The company told The Hill in a statement that it condemned the inappropriate behaviors happening on the platform and added that it is adding security reinforcement features.

“We recently changed the default settings for education users enrolled in our K-12 program, as well as our Free Basic and Simple Pro users, to enable virtual waiting rooms and ensure only hosts can share their screens by default,” a spokesman for the company said.

The statement added, “We have also added a new “Security” icon to the Zoom meeting controls for all hosts to help them quickly access in-meeting security features.”

Updated at 2:19 p.m.