Indiana election officials’ Zoom meeting interrupted by pornography

by Brooke Seipel - 04/17/20 9:53 PM ET

A virtual meeting by the Indiana Election Committee was interrupted on Friday by a hacker who proceeded to take over screens with a pornographic video.

The Lincoln Journal Star first reported on the incident, another example of so-called “Zoom bombing” when someone interrupts a meeting on the video teleconferencing app, sometimes using a screen sharing feature to take over.

According to the Lincoln Journal Star, the man who interrupted the meeting displayed a video of a man masturbating.

Viewers of the meeting appeared shocked, and quickly tried to end the meeting.

“That was sufficiently disturbing,” said Paul Okeson, Election Commission chairman, after the image was removed.

Okeson said the pornographic material was only on the screen briefly before officials turned it off. He said local officials would investigate the incident.

A viewer of the Zoom bombing wrote on Twitter: “Most exciting Election Commission meeting ever.”

The new phenomenon of “Zoom bombings,” in which hackers or others disrupt meetings to yell obscene comments, was so widespread that the FBI issued a warning and tips on how to boost cybersecurity protocols.

People and businesses worldwide have flocked to Zoom during the coronavirus pandemic to hold events ranging from university classes to happy hours. The company had 200 million daily users in March, up from a maximum of 10 million daily users in December.

Tags Indiana meeting Pornography Zoom