Message from CITO: Prevent Zoombombing

Dear UA Community,

Online safety and awareness are more critical than ever. As more people are relying on Zoom for classes and virtual meetings, Zoombombing behavior has increased.

“Zoombombing”, disruptive behavior typically carried out by uninvited participants in a Zoom session, includes activities such as screen-sharing inappropriate or malicious messages or scenes designed to disrupt and sometimes enrage the participants.

University of Alaska students and employees are not immune to these trolling attacks, but steps can be made to mitigate this behavior.

Please review and adopt these four simple steps to use when you host Zoom sessions.

How to Avoid a Zoombomb while Hosting a Zoom Session:

Safeguard the Zoom meeting link - DO NOT SHARE YOUR ZOOM LINK ON SOCIAL MEDIA. The link is an open invitation to join your meeting and should only be shared with your attendees. If you think your Zoom session needs to be open to the public, contact your local help desk to discuss options to fit the specific needs of your meeting.
Use the latest Zoom app - All UA Zoom users are advised to download the latest version of Zoom and/or update the latest version of the Zoom client.
Always login to the Zoom app first - Before starting your meeting, make sure you are logged into the Zoom app or the alaska.zoom.us interface - this enables access to meeting controls.
Manage Security - Once you are in your Zoom session, use the Security icon along the bottom of the session window to access controls to manage screen sharing, the waiting room or to lock the meeting.

Useful links:

More on Zoom Security
Optimize your online experience: UA Best practices for remote meetings
Zoom blog with many helpful tips on How to Keep Uninvited Guests Out of Your Zoom Event
UA response regarding Zoom Security Concerns

How to Report a Zoombomb:

If a conference you hosted or participated in was the victim of a Zoombomb, please report it to your local help desk. The help desks will ensure that the Zoombomb incident is reported to the authorities, IT security and properly tracked for followup.

Any questions? As always, your local service desk is here to help!

University of Alaska Anchorage
Technical Support Center: (907)786-4646
Toll-Free: (877) 633-3888
uaa.techsupport@alaska.edu

University of Alaska Fairbanks
Phone: (907) 450-8300
Toll-free: (800) 478-8226
helpdesk@alaska.edu
https://www.alaska.edu/oit/get-help/

University of Alaska Southeast
907-796-6400 (Helpdesk)
877-465-6400 (Toll-Free)
uas.helpdesk@alaska.edu