This archive report was first published on 15 May 2020.
May 6, 2020, was supposed to be a day of spiritual reflection for the eight members of Saint Paulus Lutheran Church's Bible study group. Instead, they found themselves at the mercy of a hacker who took control of their computers and subjected them to a barrage of disturbing and explicit content.
The church has since filed a lawsuit against Zoom, alleging that the company failed to take adequate measures to prevent the hacking incident. According to the lawsuit, the hacker played 'sick and disturbing videos' that included adults engaging in sex acts with each other and physically abusing children.
When the students tried to end the video session and start again, the hacker attacked again, the suit says. The church has filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the San Jose-based Zoom, seeking unspecified damages for claims of negligence, breach of implied contract, unjust enrichment and unfair business practices.
Zoom has since condemned the incident, stating that their 'hearts go out to those impacted.' The company also pointed to its 'recently updated security features' and advised users not to widely share meeting access and passwords, as appeared to be the case with the church group.
The incident highlights the growing concerns over the security and privacy measures of Zoom, which has seen a surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has faced criticism for its handling of security issues, including a recent incident where it was accused of wrongly claiming that its app had end-to-end encryption.
