As a result of several “Zoom Bombing” incidents, DTS has reviewed the security settings in Zoom and implemented some settings to improve meeting security early in the morning of April 28th.

The changes include:

• Join before host will be turned off as a default. This setting will send participants to a waiting room. Hosts have the option to turn this on to allow participants to enter the meeting before they arrive.
• Only authenticated users will be allowed to join meetings. This setting will be locked and hosts will not be able to change it. This setting requires that all participants have a Zoom account, this may be a Wentworth account (use the sign in with SSO option), an account associated with another business or academic institution, or a free account. More on how to log into restricted meetings.
• All meetings will require a password. This setting will also be locked to prevent uninvited visitors from guessing the meeting ID and entering a meeting.
• Passwords will be embedded in the meeting links. This can be overridden by the Host if they fear someone will share the link outside the participant list. If turned off, users will be required to enter the password for the meeting.
• Participants will enter a waiting room first, by default. Hosts can override this setting if they wish. We are also implementing a rule that sends all users with non-WIT accounts into a waiting room. This should allow hosts to review users before admitting them to the meeting.
• Participants who have been removed from a meeting will not be able to rejoin. If by some chance someone does enter a meeting and engages in inappropriate behavior, they can be removed and the host can be confident they will not return.

DTS will continue to monitor the security of our virtual meeting system and will review additional changes if they are needed. Zoom has placed security as a priority and has opted to delay feature development in favor of providing a more secure environment. As new controls become available, we will review them and notify the community if we will be implementing changes that will impact their meeting experience.