Singapore bans use of Zoom by teachers

SINGAPORE - Singapore has suspended the use of videoconferencing tool Zoom by teachers after “very serious incidents” in the first week of a coronavirus lockdown that has seen schools move to home-based learning.

One incident involved obscene images appearing on screens and male strangers making lewd comments during the streaming of a geography lesson with teenage girls, media reports said.

Zoom’s video technology has proved very popular during the shutdown but it has faced safety and privacy concerns over its conferencing app, with the Singapore schools decision following on from concerns about security when the app was used by British cabinet ministers.

“These are very serious incidents,” Aaron Loh of Singapore’s education ministry technology division said on Friday, without giving details. “The ministry of education is currently investigating both breaches and will lodge a police report if warranted.

“As a precautionary measure, our teachers will suspend their use of Zoom until these security issues are ironed out.” Loh said they ministry would further advise teachers on security protocols, such as requiring secure log-ins and not sharing the meeting link beyond the students in the class. Singapore’s decision came as Apple and Google said they would collaborate to use smartphone technology to help trace and contain the spread of the virus. They will open up their mobile operating systems to allow for the creation of advanced “contact-tracing” apps.

Another type of technology is being planned in South Korea where the government said it will strap tracking wristbands on people who defy quarantine orders. (The Guardian)