Zoom faces hurdles in enabling end-to-end encryption


By MYBRANDBOOK


Zoom faces hurdles in enabling end-to-end encryption

Zoom has thought of a four-phase plan for implementing end-to-end encryption. Each phase of the plan will improve security but leave vulnerabilities that Zoom plans to address in the future. However, the company's draft white paper provides less detail about the later stages of the project.

 

Zoom has not confirmed when end-to-end encryption will launch or who will get access to it. At least initially, the service will likely be available only to paid customers. The goal of the effort is to give users control of the keys used to decrypt their communications. That would prevent Zoom employees from snooping on conversations or from letting law enforcement agencies do the same.

 

Zoom previously advertised its service as end-to-end encrypted. But in April, the company acknowledged that it wasn't using the commonly understood definition of that term. The claim has provided fodder for numerous class-action lawsuits.

 

The first phase of the plan will change Zoom's security protocol so that users' clients - not Zoom's servers - generate encryption keys. The second phase will more securely tie those keys to individual users through partnerships with single sign-on vendors and identity providers.

 

The third step will give customers an audit trail to verify that neither Zoom nor anyone else is circumventing the system. And the fourth will introduce mechanisms for detecting hacks in real time.

 

But Zoom won't be able to apply the protocol to all endpoints. Excluded clients include Zoom's web app and room systems that use SIP or H.323. Zoom also can't encrypt from end-to-end audio connections made through the public telephone network. Turning on end-to-end encryption will disable certain features. Users won't be able to record meetings or, at least initially, join before the host. These limitations are typical of end-to-end encryption schemes for video communications.

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