How to Prevent and Respond to Zoombombing

Zoombombing is a well planned and coordinated stratetegy, the defense against it should match it’s efficency.

Due to the contingency designed to contain the outbreaks of COVID-19, real-time communication platforms have become a high-priority resource. Zoom, one of the most used for video conferencing, serves 300 million people daily, enabling activities such as work meetings, class sessions, panels, and conferences. But with the popularity of this platform, a new form of cyberattacks has emerged: “zoombombing.”

Zoombombing is a type of cyberattack in which hackers enter chat rooms without invitation and transmit inappropriate material, such as racist or sexist verbal insults or pornographic content. The reoccurrence of these virtual aggressions has forced the staff behind the Zoom platform to implement updates to improve the privacy and security of their video calls. In addition to this, there are measures that users can take to prevent the intrusion of uninvited participants into the chat rooms.

In addition to the new features that Zoom added to increase security on its platform, there are precautions that users can take to minimize the risk of being attacked by zoom bombers.

Measures to prevent “zoombombing.”

1. Use the waiting rooms and passwords.

To control access to the chat rooms, we recommend using the feature that lets you protect the virtual meetings via an access password, as well as using the waiting rooms that participants can be in while the host approves their integration into the virtual session.

2. Maintain control of the screen at all times.

The host must maintain at all times control of what is transmitted on screen. If participants want to share content, we recommend that they send it to the host first, who will broadcast it in the meeting.

3. Educate your guests.

Talk to the session participants about zoombombing and practice with them the precautionary measures and possible strategies to stop the attacks and mitigate their effects.

4. Assign a co-host.

Usually, the host is in charge of the logistics of a virtual meeting or session. However, in the face of the threat of an attack, the speed and the quality of the response may not be ideal, because the host would have to take care of the logistics of the meeting and the defense of the chat room at the same time. Therefore, it is advisable to have a person with whom you can divide the tasks and organize an effective defense while maintaining the underlying purposes of the session.

5. Create an atmosphere of security and empowerment.

Even if you prepare your team, follow all the security measures of the platform, and practice strategies with your guests, you will not eliminate the risk of zoombombing completely. So, it is essential to talk beforehand about the effects an attack like this might have and how to deal with them to generate responses that slow down the incursion. In simpler words, it is not a question of telling participants that the space they are in is 100% secure; instead, it is about inspiring confidence in them not to become disabled during a zoombombing and responding appropriately to stop the attack as soon as possible.

How to mount a defense?

Even with the new security features and the recommendations of Zoom for users, the risk of being in a video call attacked by a zoom bomber is not entirely eliminated. If you find yourself in such an attack, these measures can help slow it down quickly.

1. Problematize it.

Being on the other side of an aggressor attack of any kind activates one of our most basic reflexes, that of fight or flight. When conceptualizing a zoombombing situation as aggression at the moment it happens, we run the risk of various responses, such as reacting aggressively, following the instinct to fight, moving away from the computer, leaving it under the control of the attackers, giving in to the instinct to flee, or freezing in a panic if we could not choose any of the previous options.

If we approach a zoombombing attack as a problem rather than aggression, it makes it easier for us to use mechanisms to help us stay calm and implement solutions immediately.

2. Coordinate the defense.

Many zoom bomber attacks are coordinated raids by teams of hackers who enter the chat rooms and mount strategic offensives. To counter them effectively, the defenders should be just as coordinated and fast. The host can make use of security measures, such as removing the zoom bombers from the meeting, limiting the use of shared screens, and restricting the chat.

Other participants should take on the task of gathering information that helps identify the attackers, such as screenshots and usernames, while others maintain communication within the group to monitor the emotional well-being of the videocall guests.

3. Discern the impacts.

The idea of zoombombing is to break into virtual spaces and expose other people to inappropriate, aggressive, and offensive content. However, there is not a single criterion describing what can be offensive to a group of people. There will be participants who do not feel so violated or affected by the comments and content that the zoom bombers force into their spaces. However, there will be others especially sensitive to the same material.

It is crucial to consider these personal differences and treat the impact of the problem caused by the attack on a case-by-case basis. Establish communication and dialogue, accompaniment, and a way to seek appropriate help, not according to a general criterion but according to an individual perception of how each of the participants lived the experience of a zoom bomber attack.

Do you talk to your students or co-workers about the possibility of zoombombing? Do you know how to use Zoom’s security features? Have you identified people in your group who might be more sensitive to this type of attack? What strategies have you developed to support them? Tell us in the comments.

Sofía García-Bullé

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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0