Wiltshire Police say they’re investigating three reports of child pornography being shown in local virtual meetings by uninvited guests in the past week.
The act, known as ‘zoom-bombing’, is when someone joins a virtual meeting on the video conferencing platform Zoom and displays offensive or indecent images to the participants.
Companies have been utilising the software during the coronavirus pandemic in order to reduce face-to-face meetings, and continue to hold meetings with staff working from home.
Detective Inspector Gemma Vinton of Wiltshire’s Digital Investigations and Intelligence Unit said: “Incidents of this nature have been reported globally as well as in the UK recently, however we have now unfortunately had three reports within Wiltshire in the last week.
“These ‘zoom-bombings’ have involved extremely unpleasant indecent child-abuse video footage being shown via screen sharing by a meeting participant who was not known to the organisers of the video conferences.
“The meetings were publicised on social media with limited security settings so we’re urging individuals and businesses alike to remain vigilant and ensure settings are fixed correctly to prevent future occurrences.”
To reduce the risk of people being able to infiltrate a Zoom meeting, you can do the following:
1. Make the meeting private by either setting up a password or using a ‘waiting room’ feature which allows the host to control entry, these should both be set as a default on the App
2. Consider limiting audio or video requirements if necessary, you can prevent attendees unmuting themselves after entry if required in the settings
3. Limit screen sharing permissions to either just the host or trusted attendees
4. If publicising the event on social media, be extra vigilant with your settings
Police suggest that meeting managers also record meetings in Zoom to help an investigation in the event of criminal activity, but say you must ensure the participants are aware if any recording is being created.
Police and Crime Commissioner, Angus Macpherson added “This is an extremely malicious online crime which can have lasting effects on the victims and particularly the host of the meeting feeling responsible. It’s difficult to understand the motives: it could be pranksters simply aiming to prove that they ‘can’ infiltrate a conference and cause a stir and a bit of embarrassment; or it could stem from a much darker, more sinister place.
“The important thing to remember is it’s possible to prevent uninvited guests to your video calls, as it’s vital we all continue to stay in touch.”
