The Covid-19 pandemic has made many people aware of what telecommuting is like, and as a result, the use of videoconferencing software has skyrocketed. In particular, the use of Zoom has skyrocketed. While this is good for Zoom, it also raises concerns about the privacy and security of this platform.

How popular is Zoom these days? According to data from web analytics firm SimilarWeb, daily traffic to the Zoom.us download page jumped 535% in the past month, as The Guardian discovered. Also, according to SensorTower, Zoom's iPhone app has been downloaded more than any other app in the U.S. in the past few weeks.

This rapid increase has put Zoom under scrutiny from both security researchers and New York State Attorney General Letitia James. According to the New York Times, James recently sent a letter to Zoom asking what security measures it has taken to address the increase in traffic. The letter also raised security concerns that Zoom has been slow to address vulnerabilities that "allow malicious third parties, among other things, to secretly access a consumer's webcam."

Zoom responded in a statement that it "takes user privacy, security, and trust extremely seriously."

"During the Covid-19 pandemic, we are working around the clock to ensure that hospitals, universities, schools, and other businesses around the world stay connected and able to conduct their business," Zoom added.

Some view Zoom's statement as little more than lip service. Earlier this week, the FBI issued a warning about the practice of "Zoom bombings," in which videoconferencing software and sessions are hacked. One of the problems is that Zoom's short number-based URLs can be guessed by hackers.

"The FBI has received multiple reports of meetings being disrupted by pornographic images, hate images, and threatening language," the FBI said in a statement to CBS Boston.

Security researchers have also criticized Zoom on Twitter. Arvind Narayanan, a Princeton University professor and security expert, called Zoom a "privacy disaster. He threw down the gauntlet.

"What makes Zoom a prick in terms of both security and privacy is how unnecessary it is. They have excellent basic technology! But as more and more skeletons come out of the closet, it is clear that this organization is fundamentally corrupt," Hanson said.

Hanson's Twitter feed links to several articles that put Zoom in an unfavorable light, including one that claims Zoom is deceiving people into believing it has end-to-end encryption even though it does not.

Zoom has also faced criticism regarding its Mac installer, with one security researcher noting that it uses "the same trick that macOS malware uses" to circumvent Apple's OS restrictions. to Zoom's credit, Zoom was I responded quickly.

My advice ''Do your research and remain diligent about the video conferencing software you plan to use.