Zoom
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The recently shelter-in-place orders have forced many people to hunker down indoors. Without many places to go to, a lot of Americans turned to in-person activities online. Zoom, one of the most popular video-conferencing platform in the market, saw a rise in users, enabling millions to keep in touch with family and friends.

In the last month alone, the app's download page saw a 535% rise in daily traffic. It also became the most downloaded app in the Apple Store. Politicians and high-profile figures also utilize Zoom for business purposes.

With the rise of users come many concerns about the app's security, how safe is it?

A recent inquiry brought to attention Zoom's data-mining feature where it secretly displayed data from people's LinkedIn profiles---a feature that could be used to snoop on participants during meetings without their knowledge.

The issue was brought to light on Thursday after an analysis conducted by The New York Times found that when a person enters a meeting, their information, including their name and email address, is immediately sent to a company system that matches the procured information to LinkedIn profiles.

The analysis also discovered that some participants were given access to sensitive information without the knowledge of the other parties, effectively allowing them to snoop on the participants.

The undisclosed data mining led to growing concerns about the company's business practices. The security concerns have become more urgent as more users, including health providers, teachers, and government officials, are embracing the video-conferencing platform.

The feature was made available to users who subscribed to LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Once the feature is enabled, Zoom users could easily view all data in a participant's LinkedIn profile which may include location, employers, and job titles.

The Times also found that users who signed in to a Zoom meeting under a different name or complete anonymity will still have their LinkedIn profile displayed---a process that overrides the person's efforts to keep his identity private.

The app was also revealed to send personal information to its data-mining tool even when no one turned the tool on.

The app faced numerous security and safety issues in recent weeks. On March 30, the FBI announced the launch of an investigation following an increase in the number of video hijacking cases.

Authorities discovered short number-based URLs generated by the hackers gave them access to video meetings where they often hurled racial slurs or threats at participants.

In 2019, Zoom had installed a hidden web server that allowed others to add unknowing users to a call. A user also found a bug that lets hackers tap into a Mac user's webcam and microphone.

The app also features an "attention tracker" where hosts will be notified should a participant stay away from the Zoom window for 30 seconds or more.

An associate computer science professor, Arvind Narayanan, said the number of security issues Zoom had in the past makes it dangerous.

"Let's make this simple," he said. "Zoom is malware."

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