Zoom acquires Keybase, promises secured end-to-end encryption on video conference app

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. has been in the technology industry for several years, but was not well known; the sudden COVID-19 outbreak, which wreaked havoc for private enterprises around the world, has turned the fortunes of the company for good and has become synonymous for video conference meeting among corporates and online teaching for students and teachers alike.

Lately, Zoom has come under scrutiny for its dubious user privacy policy and its secured video communication system vulnerable to hacking.

Last month, it announced to a 90-day action plan to improve its security, and accordingly, it has now acquired Keybase, a secure messaging and file-sharing service.

The company is promising the Keybase team will help create secure end-to-end encryption for video calls.

Both the team members of Keybase and Zoom will proactively identify, address, and enhance the security and privacy capabilities of its platform. Also, Keybase co-founder, Max Krohn will lead the Zoom security engineering team, reporting directly to Eric S. Yuan, CEO Zoom.

"There are end-to-end encrypted communications platforms. There are communications platforms with easily deployable security. There are enterprise-scale communications platforms. We believe that no current platform offers all of these. This is what Zoom plans to build, giving our users security, ease of use, and scale, all at once," Eric S. Yuan said.

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"The first step is getting the right team together. Keybase brings deep encryption and security expertise to Zoom, and we’re thrilled to welcome Max and his team. Bringing on a cohesive group of security engineers like this significantly advances our 90-day plan to enhance our security efforts,” Yuan added.

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