Zoom has announced a new update that users will need to install to continue using the service.
The Zoom 5.0 update is a security-focused update that adds extra encryption to the video conferencing app that’s become indispensable since the lockdown.
Crucially, Zoom says anyone not updated to the latest version won’t be able to join any meetings.
‘Beginning May 30, 2020, all Zoom clients must be on 5.0+ in order to join any meeting, as GCM Encryption will be fully enabled for all Zoom meetings,’ the company wrote in a blog post.
‘Zoom 5.0 clients are also compatible with the current encryption used by Zoom meetings prior to May 30.’
The Zoom 5.0 update was introduced back in April as part of a sweeping range of security updates for the company after criticism from privacy experts.
The update is required whether you use the Zoom app on a smartphone, tablet or desktop.
The added encryption is designed to make meetings more secure and stop others from Zoombombing.
How to update your Zoom account
Thankfully, it’s very easy to update.
‘We will earn our customers’ trust and deliver them happiness with our unwavering focus on providing the most secure platform.’
The video app was also criticised last month after it emerged the platform was not using end-to-end encryption for all meetings, despite suggesting it was on its website.
What does the Zoom 5.0 update do?
As part of the Zoom 5.0 update, the company said it had upgraded its encryption to better protect meeting data and offer more resistance against tampering.
‘We take a holistic view of our users’ privacy and our platform’s security,’ Zoom chief product officer Oded Gal said.
‘From our network to our feature set to our user experience, everything is being put through rigorous scrutiny.
‘On the back end, AES 256-bit GCM encryption will raise the bar for securing our users’ data in transit.
‘On the front end, I’m most excited about the security icon in the meeting menu bar. This takes our security features, existing and new, and puts them front and centre for our meeting hosts.
‘With millions of new users, this will make sure they have instant access to important security controls in their meetings.’
Cyber security expert Jonathan Knudsen, senior security strategist at Synopsys, said that although Zoom’s update still did not offer full end-to-end encryption as defined by industry experts, security within the app had undoubtedly improved.
‘In Zoom 5.0, the encryption algorithm has been strengthened, but this still does not change the fundamental architecture of Zoom, which does not fully implement end-to-end encryption,’ he said.
‘At the same time, given the recent intense scrutiny of Zoom’s infrastructure, the new changes in version 5.0 represent a renewed commitment to helping users safeguard confidentiality.
‘For many of us, the risk of an adversary powerful enough to compromise Zoom’s infrastructure and intercept meeting content is low.
‘For the most part, you can configure a reasonable degree of confidentiality by using a meeting password, monitoring participants, locking meetings after they start, and managing recordings carefully.’
Among the other new features confirmed in the update is a waiting room feature being on by default – meaning all meeting participants are kept in individual virtual waiting rooms until they are admitted to the meeting.
This feature, in particular, is seen as a key tool in stopping Zoombombing.
Elsewhere, needing a password to join a meeting is now on by default, as is needing a password to access meeting recordings.
It is also now possible for meeting hosts to report a user in a meeting, as well as disable their ability to rename themselves.
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