Zoom's end-to-end encryption isn't actually end-to-end at all. Good thing the PM isn't using it for Cabinet calls.

international | sci-tech | other press Sunday May 10, 2020 13:59 by 1 of indy

Turns out it is mining all your data on your device

Everyone is using Zoom these days from work conference calls to family chats and quizzes. It's the new shiny star of the Corona-virus era. It is a godsend to save us. Well it turns out it isn't. It's encryption is not true encryption and it just uses TLS which allows the Zoom corporation to intercept and decrypt video chats and other data. TLS is also used by WhatsApp which is owned by Microsoft, so that allows Microsoft to easily mine all the messages from the 1.5 billion or so users.

This report on Zoom comes from the UK Tech Industry well known website TheReigster. Even though the report is from early April it is unlikely most people have been made aware of the full extent of the scandal.

Since then Zoom have no doubt fixed some of the glaring security holes but it is highly likely they not want to stop getting the data they had access to, so it would be reasonable to assume they are still getting it by backdoor means and not transmitting it encrypted so that it will be far harder to uncover

The controversy started when the British PM shared a screenshot of the first Cabinet meeting using Zoom. But that is alright because it would be useful to hear what lies they are promoting.

Here are some key sections of the report

Most notably, the company has been forced to admit that although it explicitly gives users the option to hold an “end-to-end encrypted” conversation and touts end-to-end encryption as a key feature of its service, in fact it offers no such thing.

Specifically, it uses TLS, which underpins HTTPS website connections and is significantly better than nothing. But it most definitely is not end-to-end encryption (E2E). E2E ensures all communications are encrypted between devices so that not even the organization hosting the service has access to the contents of the connection. With TLS, Zoom can intercept and decrypt video chats and other data.

When we say end-to-end...
Despite Zoom offering a meeting host the option to “enable an end-to-end (E2E) encrypted meeting,” and providing a green padlock that claims “Zoom is using an end to end encrypted connection,” it appears that the company is able to access data in transit along that connection, and can also be compelled to provide it to governments. So, it's not E2E

...
Under questioning, a Zoom spokesperson admitted: “Currently, it is not possible to enable E2E encryption for Zoom video meetings. Zoom video meetings use a combination of TCP and UDP. TCP connections are made using TLS and UDP connections are encrypted with AES using a key negotiated over a TLS connection.”

And on Privacy it seems they were sending all sorts of data to Facebook whether you were a Facebook member or not. Oh why did people trust these companies so much is unbelievable

As we reported earlier this month, Zoom granted itself the right to mine your personal data and conference calls to target you with ads, and seemed to have a "creepily chummy" relationship with tracking-based advertisers.

...Speaking of Facebook, Zoom's iOS app sent analytics data to Facebook even if you didn't use Facebook to sign into Zoom, due to the application's use of the social network's Graph API, Vice discovered. The privacy policy stated the software collects profile information when a Facebook account is used to sign into Zoom, though it didn't say anything about what happens if you don't use Facebook.

The full Register article can be found at: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/01/zoom_spotlight/

Other coverage of the story can be found at:

Zoom iOS App Sends Data to Facebook Even if You Don’t Have a Facebook Account
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/k7e599/zoom-ios-app-sends-data-to-facebook-even-if-you-dont-have-a-facebook-account

Zoom is Leaking Peoples' Email Addresses and Photos to Strangers
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/k7e95m/zoom-leaking-email-addresses-photos

2020-059.htm Offsite: Zoom's End-to-End Encryption Isn't
https://www.metzdowd.com/pipermail/cryptography/2020-April/subject.html#start