Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, urged panel Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney to stop using Zoom video conferencing to conduct committee meetings after a hacker “zoom-bombed” a recent meeting three times.
Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said a hacker gained access to a committee video meeting conducted by Maloney on the Zoom platform on April 3. The meeting featured John Sopko, the special inspector general overseeing Afghanistan reconstruction.
“In spite of the warnings by the FBI and media outlets, on April 3, 2020, you held a Zoom-hosted Member briefing on women’s rights in Afghanistan with the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction,” Jordan wrote to Maloney, a New York Democrat. “During this important briefing, the session was ‘Zoom-bombed’ at least three times. The impact of hacking and malware on Member and staff devices is still being determined.”
Zoom has experienced exponential growth during the coronavirus outbreak, and Congress is struggling to conduct business outside of the Capitol. The House adjourned in March to avoid the threat of the coronavirus. Lawmakers have since been meeting through video calls and phone conference calls.
But the Zoom platform has been increasingly criticized for security breaches and “zoom-bombing” by hackers.
In addition, news reports indicate that some of Zoom’s encryption keys are outdated and come from China, and some Zoom calls made in the United States and Canada are routed through China.
Jordan pointed out the Senate sergeant-at-arms has warned Senate offices to avoid using Zoom for video conferencing.
“Given the concerns surrounding Zoom’s security, it is clear Zoom is not an appropriate platform for Committee business, which may be particularly sensitive during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Jordan wrote to Maloney. “Please immediately suspend any current or future use of Zoom systems for official committee activities and take immediate steps to evaluate the Committee’s internal cybersecurity preparedness to prevent hackers from accessing sensitive committee information through the Zoom platform.”
