Zoom to make video calls more secure after FTC accuses it of deceptive security claims

Zoom has decided to ‘settle’ with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and will be upping security measures on its video calls after being accused of engaging in “a series of deceptive and unfair practices that undermined the security of its users” by claiming that its encryption was stronger than it actually was.

Zoom had claimed in the past that its video calls were protected by end-to-end encryption and that scrambled calls making it “near-impossible” for anyone, even Zoom, to listen in. FTC has alleged that those claims are false.

“In reality, the FTC alleges, Zoom maintained the cryptographic keys that could allow Zoom to access the content of its customers’ meetings, and secured its Zoom Meetings, in part, with a lower level of encryption than promised,” said the FTC in a statement.