Zoom Best Practices
Joint Statement of the UC Location CIOs
April 7, 2020
To provide the necessary tools to support the rapid transition to online learning and remote work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, most UC locations expanded their use of Zoom for teaching, research, telemedicine, and administration. Ten UC locations have obtained site licenses to provide Zoom access for all faculty, staff, and students.
As the university’s Chief Information Officers, we are very aware and concerned that Zoom is experiencing security and privacy issues. Our UC IT security and privacy experts are closely monitoring these issues and Zoom’s responses.
Zoom has been quick to respond to these issues, including the timely release of security patches for newly discovered vulnerabilities. UC locations also have issued guidance for their users, which is found below. Such guidance will be revised as necessary, based on any new findings.
In addition, UC has a systemwide agreement in place with Zoom, which includes the UC Data Security Appendix and a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement. The terms of this agreement address UC’s needs and provide greater security and privacy protections than Zoom’s standard agreement terms.
Privacy and security are a joint responsibility of both Zoom and our UC communities. There are a few keys steps all of us can take to best ensure the privacy and security of our Zoom interactions:
- All Zoom users should install client software updates as soon as they are available.
- Zoom meeting hosts should set their accounts to provide the highest protection for the privacy of all meeting participants in accordance with their location’s published guidance (listed below).
- All Zoom users should periodically check their location’s published guidance for updates.
In sum, Zoom has been responsive to the security and privacy concerns and, while it is important for our IT security and privacy experts to monitor the situation, we believe that at present Zoom continues to be an appropriate option for online learning and remote work. For more detail about location-specific guidance, please refer to the websites below.
Location Zoom Guidance and Best Practices
Each Location offers a resource to assist your use of Zoom: