“Horrifying” Zoombombing attack on ICANN meeting, again
ICANN’s eleventh-hour decision to remove password requirements for ICANN 68 was proved wrong almost immediately after the meeting got underway on Zoom today.
According to participants and ICANN itself, several sessions were “zoombombed” this morning, with apparently pornographic content.
Zoombombing is where trolls disrupt public, open Zoom meetings with content designed to offend.
ICANN 68 is taking place on Zoom, but on Kuala Lumpur time. I was asleep during the attacks and ICANN has yet to post the recordings of any of today’s sessions, so I can’t give you any of the details first-hand.
But judging by a handful of social media posts that reference the attack, it seems to have been pornographic in nature. ICANN said it comprised “audio, images and video”.
One participant described it as “funny at first…until it was not”, while another said it was “horrifying” and left her feeling “completely vulnerable”.
ICANN said in a blog post that the trolls were swiftly removed from the sessions.
It added that it has changed the format of the remainder of ICANN 68, unplugging certain interactive components and requiring passwords to be entered before access is granted.
This means you’re going to have to register for each session and click emailed confirmation links, it appears.
Only the Governmental Advisory Committee is staying on the platform with its original vulnerable configuration.
ICANN had been planning to require passwords since a similar attack at an inter-sessional meeting in March, but changed its mind last week after security upgrades made by Zoom gave leaders a greater sense of confidence in the platform.
It appears that confidence was misplaced.
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