EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

In December of last year, the video conferencing service Zoom hosted 10 million users per day. Now, it hosts up to 200 million users each day.

Although other video conferencing platforms exist, Zoom is in a league of its own due to its reliability, versatility and mix of easy to use features.

From board rooms to classrooms, people across a variety of professions rely on Zoom.

However, have you ever asked yourself how your privacy is protected while you use this type of collaborative software?

Researchers have discovered security vulnerabilities within Zoom’s technologies, and in recent weeks, users have borne the burden of their existence.

Yet, it can be tough to circumvent using this otherwise all-around handy video conferencing service. As you use the platform, protect your privacy and security with the following tactics:

• Ensure that all of your versions of Zoom (desktop and mobile) are up to date, and patched with the latest software.
• To prevent intruders from entering your video calls, protect your meetings with passwords, and never give out your personal meeting ID. Rather, enable the platform to generate a random ID for each meeting.
• Avoid placing meeting links, passwords and even photos of your Zoom meetings, in publicly accessible places (like social media).
• The best idea is to connect to Zoom via single sign on, if your company provides this type of authentication. Otherwise “Sign in with two-factor authentication” and give this capability to “all users in your account”, says Check Point cyber security expert, Mark Ostrowski.

For more expert insights on how to secure your online communications, visit Forbes.