There is an interesting case out of San Francisco where one of the oldest churches is suing Zoom Video Communications, Inc. after bible classes were interrupted by pranksters “zoombombing” with pornographic images. Saint Paulus Lutheran Church filed a complaint in federal court to lay the foundation for a class action.
The elderly participated were shocked to suddenly have an array of pornographic images described in the complaint: “The footages were sick and sickening — portraying adults engaging in sex acts with each other and performing sex acts on infants and children, in addition to physically abusing them.”
While the church said that “Zoom did nothing,” the company responded to the contrary:
“We were deeply upset to hear about this incident, and our hearts go out to those impacted by this horrific event. Words cannot express how strongly we condemn such behavior. On the same day we learned of this incident, we identified the offender, took action to block their access to the platform and reported them to relevant authorities.”
The lawsuit alleges privacy violations and seeks injunctive relief to prevent Zoom from engaging in negligent business practices.
The question is whether the users should be deemed aware of such a vulnerability when using an open conferencing product. Zoom is suggesting that it can trace pranksters after-the-fact but that such conferencing has inherent vulnerabilities. It has also increased security and created educational posts on how to prevent uninvited participants. Yet, users insist that the company has a flawed product that has exposed users to the loss of privacy and disruptions in their meetings.
This could make for a fascinating case if the church can show that there were always programs or fixes that could have prevented such intrusions. The class action may help on damages. It is not clear what the damages for a pornographic Bible class would be in terms of emotional distress, negligence, and grossly impure thoughts.
(Please forgive the double post. My initial post is awaiting moderation because i contains links to the FBI, CERT, and Zoom, and I thought the information was timely for other readers)
Zoom and the FBI were well aware of the potential for zoombombing at least as early as March 30. Both released recommendations, and Zoom changed the defaults to match those recommendations. Does that absolve them of any and all liability? Perhaps not. However, Zoom hardly *forced* the church to use their product–and to have either failed to update or revert default settings to be less secure.
For the TL:DR version of the mitigations steps:
1. Do not make meetings or classrooms public. either require a meeting password or use the waiting room feature and control the admittance of guests
2. Do not share a link to a teleconference or classroom on an unrestricted publicly available social
media post. Provide the link directly to specific people.
3. Manage screensharing options. In Zoom, change screensharing to “Host Only.”
4. Ensure users are using the updated version of remote access/meeting applications.
5. Zoom changed the default to “Use Passwords” and disabled “Scan for meetings to join” back in January.
This seems more of a case where the folks were surprised to learn that other people might be able to see the posts on that FacePage thingie the kids are all using nowadays.
You can insert up to 2 links. Any more and your comment will be automatically filtered out by Word Press.
However, if you ask Darren, he might be able to find it and post your comment. Sometimes posts become too buried in the filter and he can’t find it, but when he does, he often will change a hyperlink to plain text and restore your comment.
If he can’t find it, then just split up the 3 links into 2 posts.
I previously located the comment that had three links and dereferenced one of them. It should be nearby this one.
Great! Thank you both for the follow-up.:)
Zoom and the FBI were well aware of the potential for zoombombing at least as early as March 30. Both released recommendations, and Zoom changed the defaults to match those recommendations. Does that absolve them of any and all liability? Perhaps not. However, Zoom hardly *forced* the church to use their product–and to have either failed to update or revert default settings to be less secure.
For the TL:DR version of the mitigations steps:
1. Do not make meetings or classrooms public. either require a meeting password or use the waiting room feature and control the admittance of guests
2. Do not share a link to a teleconference or classroom on an unrestricted publicly available social
media post. Provide the link directly to specific people.
3. Manage screensharing options. In Zoom, change screensharing to “Host Only.”
4. Ensure users are using the updated version of remote access/meeting applications.
5. Zoom changed the default to “Use Passwords” and disabled “Scan for meetings to join” back in January.
This seems more of a case where the folks were surprised to learn that other people might be able to see the posts on that FacePage thingie the kids are all using nowadays.
Sources:
https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/boston/news/press-releases/fbi-warns-of-teleconferencing-and-online-classroom-hijacking-during-covid-19-pandemic
us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity/2020/04/02/fbi-releases-guidance-defending-against-vtc-hijacking-and-zoom
https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2020/04/01/a-message-to-our-users/
Religion, society’s accepted mental illness.
CCP has a backdoor to Zoom. Do not use it. Use microsoft teams instead.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/11/chinas-next-plan-to-dominate-international-tech-standards/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEjEVj3PpDaf_SQ7FT2vEDlwrYj8blhVmqvVB7WVhqU1LdzvphWzYaRb_g34pWMdjvHN_2Z1w6gQ-1Gpv-cusQv8UyDhh7J9nEo5D2ls0Y6bye3Yd1Rn9wg8ZTJYfdSF7oxQv_IFHDjvnrt64BsSBm8ndv3s6j134jqmuBxV6SAN
Child pornography and posting images of the rape of infants, as is alleged in the case, is obviously a crime. I only hope that any children involved are able to be found and rescued.
Anyone who thinks posting child porn is a joke is criminally sick. Investigators who work on such cases have extremely high stress. It would be traumatic for elderly church attendees to be subjected to that, when they are trying to do the right thing and worship from home.
I believe this is likely a bigoted attack against Christians. This raises the question of hate crimes. Should there be hate crime laws, or should we be satisfied with anti-terrorism laws? I think many interpersonal crimes are motivated by hatred if not greed. It is my understanding that anti-terrorism laws would take care of attacks as those of the KKK that ravaged America long ago. If we apply hate crime laws equally, then they should apply to politically motivated attacks, as well. After all, that’s hatred of a group, and may even be considered voter suppression.
Our culture is eroding. A generation has been raised to be selfish, cruel to those who think differently than them, and entitled. They cannot bear that someone might say something they don’t agree with, and some even view differing opinions as a form of violence. That’s why they feel justified threatening, menacing, and mobbing invited conservative speakers at universities across America. There is no denying this trend, or its target being, for the most part, conservatives. It is common for conservatives to be afraid to speak their minds in public, for fear of attack. That makes Democrats trending intolerant and dangerous. Moderate Democrats, turn this ship around. I don’t recognize your party anymore. I used to think Democrats and Republicans were united in patriotism, and caring for the American people. They just had different methods. That’s all burnt and gone.
We are raising intolerant, bigoted adults who are fanatics of the religion of the Social Justice Warrior.
I work for a Federal agency and we’re not allowed to use Zoom, due to security concerns.
CCP spies using zoom. don’t use it. ujse MSFT teams instead
https://www.theepochtimes.com/millions-of-americans-using-zoom-but-some-data-sent-to-china_3302340.html
Glory be
The next bible class will be about Adam & Eve running around naked in the Garden of Eden.
Zoom is the way we “teach” classes, “see” patients, communicate with colleagues and crash my Mac. Zoom has to be updated perpetually and with each update comes glitches and yet more updates just like all things online today. It’s a scam.
We are a country of chronic pathologies due to devaluing life, starting with abortion / Roe v Wade. COVID-19 related social distancing has been a godsend for those Americans who avoid phone calls & face-to-face interactions, opting instead for unrelenting Dopamine hits, self-stimulation and narcissistic behaviors.
Only the fit survive. It will be telling on an evolutionary scale what survives from our current La Brea Tar Pits
I would not use the word “pranksters” to describe the person or persons who Zoombombed the Bible classes. I think it would take a truly perverted person to do such a thing and derive some sort of pleasure from it or think it was funny.
Indeed. We were told….
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Gospel of Saint John 14:15-21
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051720.cfm
Part of those commands is the 4th, remembering the Sabbath (6th day) and keeping it set apart (holy). Easter and Sun-worship (Sunday) are traditions of men and not part of commandment keeping.
Those Commandments were recorded by men in books passed down throughout the early Church via Sacred Traditions. There was no Bible in the Early Church.
NB: Next time you see a Catholic thank him for the KJV you carry
c.f. Council of Laodicea, c. 360 was the first council when the canon we presently have was promulgated. The definitive canon was affirmed in 1441 by the Council of Florence, an ecumenical council, all predating PROTESTantism.
Estovir – the King James Version is in spite of the Catholics, unless you want to give them credit for suppressing the translation of the Bible into English?
Paul, Paul, Paul, you of all people know the answer:
videns autem multos Pharisaeorum et Sadducaeorum venientes ad baptismum suum dixit eis progenies viperarum quis demonstravit vobis fugere a futura ira
Im finishing George Weigel’s excellent book “Lessons in Hope: My Unexpected Life with St John Paul II”
https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2017/09/a-memoir-i-never-expected-to-write
since you think a great deal like Weigel, tell us your impressions of his growth as a Catholic thinker and evangelist due to Saint JPII. Should be angelic reading your thoughts ala et ecce vox de caelis et mancave
😉
honestlawyer – I have to agree with you. This person(s) are perverted, not pranksters. If it was just porn, it would be kinda funny, however the child porn and abuse porn puts it way over the edge.
Wouldn’t those who posted child rape images to a church Zoom service be labeled ‘pedophiles”?
I will tell you this. I was a dog in a prior life. When I died and got my interview at the Holy Gates I was told by Saint Peter that I had been a bad dog and had to come back to Earth as a human. In round two a prior dog can recall the Pearly Gates interview but a prior human cannot. When I I was in line at the Pearly Gates I watched an interview with a priest who was a child abuser. He got sent to Hell in a hand basket.
Preacher, Preacher:. I declare. We all can see your underwear!
There needs to be a class action suit against the church for their lies said to children. All that apCray about Mary and Jesus or some ghost with holes in him.
Liberty2nd I wouldn’t want to be you.
How do you know that those are lies?
I’ll pass the plate, you can put money into it, and I will tell you.
Like I thought, no answer.
The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind.
Speaking of blowing…..I think you are in desperate need of one.
How do you know any version of any mythology is true? And be careful: Marduk is listening.
Not a fan of the First Amendment freedom of religion, are you?