A South African Lawmakers’ Meeting On Zoom Got Disrupted And Porn Was Shown. With So Many People Using Zoom, We Need To Be Careful

A South African Lawmakers’ Meeting On Zoom Got Disrupted And Porn Was Shown. With So Many People Using Zoom, We Need To Be Careful

We’ve adapted pretty quickly to not being able to have physical meetings during the pandemic. Thanks to apps like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco Webex, schools and offices are all shifting to online methods of keeping up with their deadlines. While this is a great way to continue working from home, it comes with the added threat of cyber crime.

On Thursday, 7th May, a virtual meeting between South African lawmakers was interrupted by hackers with pornographic images. The meeting’s chairwoman, Thandi Modise, who is the speaker of the National Assembly, was also subjected to crude racial and sexual insults. The lawmakers of South Africa have switched to holding their video conference calls on Zoom ever since the country went into lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.

However, this is not the first time that something like this has happened. At least one that such virtual meeting held by the South African parliament has been hacked in this way. Modise said that she had previously warned them about using Zoom for video conference calls.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZmH7NqAU9r/

Scarily enough, this kind of hacking has become a common occurrence, especially with the Zoom app. They have faced international criticism for the same. Several Zoom users have complained about hackers disrupting their meetings with pornographic and offensive photos, videos, and other content.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_4AZJog93d/

Even though this particular meeting was continued later with a different link, it presents a very real and concerning threat. Apps like Zoom are used not only by offices and governments, but also by schools, colleges, and universities to hold online classes. Students across the world have shifted to this alternative, even to give their exams. At a time like this, cyber crime becoming rampant poses a serious threat to the safety of these students, many of whom are underage. There have been cases where classroom meetings have been hacked into and offensive content has been displayed.

The situation we are in is already dire, and we have no alternative but to continue working online. Zoom is one of the most popular ways to do this, and has millions relying on it. We sure hope this problem is sorted out soon!

Neeharika Nene

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