Supreme Court seeks response from Centre on PIL seeking ban on Zoom app amid privacy fears

Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from the Centre on a PIL seeking a ban on the usage of video conferencing application "Zoom" by the citizens of India until the formulation of appropriate legislation. The PIL filed in the apex court has claimed that the app breaches privacy. This comes amid numerous news reports questioning the safety standards of the application and cybersecurity loopholes due to which countries like the US, Singapore, Germany, and Taiwan have banned and restricted the use of Zoom. 

Read: NCPCR Seeks CERT-In's Response Over Complaints Regarding Use Of Zoom For Online Classes

Read: Zoom Rolls Out New Measures To Tackle Security Breach As MHA Warns Against Its Use

MHA express concern over Zoom

A few weeks ago, amid concerns over security flaws and privacy breach of users, the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued an advisory stating that Zoom was not "a secure platform" for private individuals and advised against use by government offices/staff for official purposes. The popularity of the video conferencing platform skyrocketed after the lockdowns and stay-at-home orders owing to the COVID-19 pandemic which laid bare the security flaws of the application.

Shortly after, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) sought a response from Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) over a complaint regarding the safety of children while using Zoom for attending online classes held by schools. 

Data being sold to 'dark web'

In response to the worldwide backlash, the Silicon Valley startup said that it is working with cyber-security firm Luta Security to overhaul processes and its "bug bounty" program that pays rewards to researchers who find security flaws in its operations. Zoom also addressed a recent report that users' log-in information was being sold by criminals on the "dark web." Zoom's advisor Alex Stamos, former chief of security at Facebook said that the credentials were likely stolen elsewhere on the internet, or by malicious code slipped into people's computers. He added that it is not uncommon for hackers to take passwords and account names pilfered in data breaches and then check whether people use them for other online services.

Read: Zoom App User Data Is Being Sold For ₹23 Lakh On Dark Web: Reports

Read: MHA Says Zoom 'not A Secure Platform'; Issues Advisory On Usage