Over 500K Zoom Usernames & Passwords Are Being Sold in the Dark Web

By
Shawn Ambrose
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Zoom has shot up in popularity ever since the coronavirus broke out and people started working from home.

There was no other platform where users could have online meetings with several colleagues or webinars while not wearing any pants.

Skype: Uh, hello? What about me?

Some people seem to have forgotten about you for some reason.

Skype: I guess it was fun while it lasted.

Don’t lose hope too soon, Skype, because while Zoom may not freeze up as much as you, it’s less secure than a teenager after their first break up.

Over 500K Zoom Usernames & Passwords Are Being Sold in the Dark Web

Personal account information including email addresses, passwords, and the web addresses for Zoom meetings are being sold on the dark web.

One dataset for sale on a dark web marketplace includes around 530,000 accounts.

Image: Giphy

With this personal information, hackers or even your grandfather who’s bored at home could do the following:

  • access a person’s personal meeting room and launch that room
  • invite others to join while impersonating the host
  • exploit a user’s contacts, like by sending them malware or creating scenarios to extort them

Yes, it’s quite scary. But there have been warning signs in the past.

Banned by many companies

There’s a reason why Zoom has been banned by companies like Google and SpaceX, because of concerns about its privacy and security.

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Zoom was even banned in Singapore schools after a student’s zoom account was hacked and they were shown obscene images.

Image: Giphy

MOE later resumed the use of the video conferencing software, but only after adding three additional layers of defence.

Zoom’s Response

According to NBC News, Zoom declined to share specifics about how the information could get out, but many of the email addresses listed had been part of previous data breaches, which are often sold and repacked on hacker forums.

“Zoom takes user security seriously,” a Zoom spokesperson said in an email.

I’d hate to see what happens if they don’t take it seriously.

The company is investigating and locking accounts that have been compromised, asking users to change their passwords to something more secure.

They are also looking to introduce additional technology solutions to bolster their security.

But what can you do?

How To Protect Your Zoom Account

If your boss insists on using Zoom despite both of you seeing several strangers’ butts during meetings, there are some things you can do to protect your account.

1. Check to see which of your accounts has been involved in a data breach

According to LifeHacker, you could use a free service like Have I Been Pwned or pwdquery to see if the email or passwords associated with your Zoom login are floating around the web.

If it is, you should start updating your various accounts with new, unique passwords and strong security settings like two-factor authentication.

2. Check your Zoom settings

If you think someone might have accessed your Zoom account, you should change your personal meeting ID so you don’t get Zoombombed in the future.

You’ll also want to change your six-digit host key, the critical number that allows you to take over your scheduled meetings as their host.

Practise Good Digital Hygiene

You should also practise good digital hygiene, and I don’t mean showering with your laptop.

Reader: Does anyone have a blanket?

Why?

Reader: Because that was the coldest joke ever.

Fair enough.

As I was saying, practising good digital hygiene makes it more difficult for hackers to get your personal information. Here are some things you can do to bolster your online security.

  • Create stronger, unique passwords, and don’t use the same password for every account. If you find it hard to remember them all, use a password manager. If your password is passw0rd and you think hackers won’t be able to hack an account with such a genius password, think again. Try using passphrases instead.
  • Use two-factor authentication on accounts like your social media and banking accounts. This helps protect your accounts from hackers who want to gain access to your login credentials, especially if you use a weak password.
  • Avoid sharing, or storing personal information on social media. Don’t share your birthdate, addresses, location, and contact information online. It may seem harmless, but criminals can easily put them together to learn a lot about you.

And while you’re at it, you might also want to watch this video on how to save more data while using social media, because chances are, you’re on social media more nowadays, right?

(Also check out our YouTube channel for more informative and entertaining videos!)

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]