Google employees barred from using Zoom on company computers

The videoconferencing company hired former Facebook and Yahoo chief security officer to improve its security framework

Google barred its employees from using Zoom on the company's computers. AFP

Google banned its employees from using Zoom Video - a competitor to the company’s Hangouts Meet app - on company laptops and smartphones citing “security vulnerabilities”.

“We have long had a policy of not allowing employees to use unapproved apps for work that are outside of our corporate network,” the Alphabet-owned firm said in a statement on Wednesday.

The company emailed employees last week about not using Zoom on Google-provided machines. However, employees can continue to use the app through their personal devices.

Zoom has tried to address growing privacy concerns that emerged over the past two weeks as more people use the application in the wake of lockdowns and a surge in remote working. The company's chief executive Eric Yuan has apologised and promised to address security vulnerabilities.

“Clearly we have a lot of work to do to ensure the security of all these new consumer use cases,” Mr Yuan said through a live YouTube streaming on Wednesday. “But what I can promise you is that we take these issues very, very seriously. We are looking into each and every one of them. If we find an issue, we will acknowledge it and we will fix it.”

The company announced a 90-day feature freeze to dedicate all resources needed to “identify, address and fix security issues proactively”.

“We are conducting a comprehensive review with third-party experts and representative users to understand and ensure the security of all of our new consumer use cases,” Mr Yuan said.

Other organisations, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, have banned the app over security concerns.

Last month, reports emerged that the Zoom app on Apple devices was directing users’ data to Facebook - including people who did not have accounts on the social networking site.

Zoom hired former Facebook and Yahoo chief security officer Alex Stamos as a consultant to address privacy concerns, strengthen the company’s battered image and win back consumer confidence.

“This opportunity to consult with Zoom was too interesting to pass up,” Mr Stamos, who led security at Facebook until 2018, said in his blog on Wednesday.

A student takes online classes with his companions using Zoom in Barcelona. Reuters

“I got a phone call from Eric Yuan… we talked about the significant challenges his company was facing, both in responding to an incredible growth in users and security expectations of the moment,” Mr Stamos said.

“He asked if I would be interested in helping Zoom build up its security, privacy and safety capabilities as an outside consultant, and I readily agreed.”

The number of users of the videoconferencing app increased dramatically over the past two months as hundreds of millions of people are confined to their homes and countries battle the coronavirus outbreak.

The daily number of meetings held on Zoom surged to 200 million from around 10 million in December.

The company's shares have more than doubled since January and its market capitalisation stands at $40.3 billion (Dh147.9bn).

Zoom is being used by various businesses, schools, universities, as well as for entertainment and fitness classes.