International News

Singapore teachers stop using video-conferecing tool Zoom amid security concerns

Sentinel Digital Desk

Singapore on Friday suspended the use of video-conferencing tool Zoom by its teachers, after “very serious incidents” during a home-based lesson. Singapore closed its schools on Wednesday in response to a rising number of coronavirus cases, the BBC reported. Parents told local media that the incidents took place in a geography class for first-year secondary school pupils. About 39 children were in the class when the stream was hacked, before “two Caucasian men” appeared and made lewd comments. The class was stopped immediately. “Home-based learning is supposed to be a safe space,” one parent told the Singapore-based Straits Times. “I know it’s difficult to manage but as a parent I feel very concerned.” It’s not known how the hackers gained access. Zoom meetings have nine-digit IDs and can, in theory, be joined by any user if they are not protected by the organiser. “These are very serious incidents,” the BBC quotd Aaron Loh of the government’s educational technology division, as saying.