EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

On Friday, Zoom informed news outlets that the company intends to strengthen security for paying customers by implementing end-to-end encryption. The new plans are based on a combination of technological, safety and business factors, reports Zoom security consultant Alex Stamos.

Zoom is currently contending with a Federal Trade Commission investigation that’s looking into the company’s previous claims about encryption. In April, the company was accused of misleading users by suggesting that calls on the platform were indeed fully encrypted, when in reality, connections were secured via TLS encryption, which is the same technology that web servers rely on to secure HTTPS websites.

Despite applauding security initiatives overall, the US Justice Department and some members of congress disagree with the implementation of strong encryption. Notably, Apple currently employs end-to-end encryption for FaceTime users. Apple cannot gain access to users’ conversations at all.

Last week, Zoom published a technical paper about its fresh encryption initiative. Nonetheless, “Zoom’s approach to end-to-end encryption is very much a work in progress- everything from our draft cryptographic design…to our continued discussions around which customers it would apply to,” stated a Zoom spokesperson.

For more on this story, visit Reuters.