Hong Kong government and schools in talks over Zoom security concerns after hackers invade online classes to spread explicit material
- Education officials and school leaders discuss security concerns associated with the video-conferencing app
- Pupils from 40 city schools call for Zoom ban amid fears over data leaks and other suspected breaches
Hong Kong education officials are in discussions with schools over their use of video-conferencing app Zoom after security concerns were raised about personal data leaks and the hacking of online classes and posting of explicit material.
Schools across the city have been using the software to live-stream lessons since face-to-face teaching was suspended in early February because of the coronavirus.
Students from dozens of secondary schools have urged senior teachers to ban the application, which has soared in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic, amid growing calls for the education sector to switch to alternatives seen as safer.
Security concerns such as data leaks, the routing of some calls through mainland China, and “Zoombombing” – when uninvited people hijack meetings – have triggered a backlash in parts of the world, with Taiwan and Germany recently restricting its use.
Hong Kong’s Education Bureau said schools had been reminded of Zoom’s potential security risks, while Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said the government would continue to hold talks with schools over the issue.
