Startups & Tech

Taiwan bans government use of Zoom over cybersecurity concerns

Published Tue, Apr 7, 2020 · 07:51 AM

[TAIPEI] Taiwan barred all official use of Zoom, becoming one of the first governments to impose an outright ban on the popular video-conferencing app over security concerns.

Agencies should avoid using services such as Zoom as they may have security flaws, the island's cabinet said in a statement Tuesday. Governments, companies and individuals around the world, including in Taiwan, have been using the app to conduct meetings remotely in an effort to minimize person-to-person contact amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Taiwan's ban is the latest blow to San Jose-based Zoom Video Communications Inc. as it struggles to cope with an explosion in demand for its services. Millions of people have turned to the app as they work and study from home amid the global lockdown. But cybersecurity researchers have warned that security loopholes in the software could allow hackers to eavesdrop on meetings or even commandeer connected machines to access secure files.

Taiwan isn't the first to take such action. Elon Musk's SpaceX and New York City's Department of Education have already banned its use.

Zoom routed some data through servers based in China as well as using developers there, internet security think tank Citizen Lab said in a report last week. Any official data being routed through China poses a major risk for Taiwan. Beijing claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory, and threatens to invade if Taiwan moves to make its independence official. Taiwan's government rejects China's claim, viewing the island as a sovereign nation.

In the absence of an established domestic alternative to Zoom, Taiwan's government said Tuesday that services from Alphabet Inc's Google and Microsoft Corp have been deemed acceptable.