

As the number of Zoom meetings increased, reports of Zoombombing followed.

With the COVID-19 virus outbreak in early 2020, demand for the Zoom video conferencing app surged to unprecedented levels as business meetings, classes and even family gatherings shifted online and users sought ways to stay in touch virtually while social distancing. Recognizable by its grid view that lets people see everyone on a call at once, Zoom became popular because of its ease of use and installation, as well as its freemium pricing model. The Zoom cloud platform offers video and audio conferencing, collaboration, chat and webinars via mobile devices, desktops, telephones and room systems and is the signature offering from Zoom Video Communications Inc., a publicly traded company founded in 2011. This disruption occurs when intruders gate-crash gatherings - sometimes for malicious purposes, such as sharing pornographic or hate images or shouting offensive language - without the host's permission. Zoombombing is a type of cyber-harassment in which an individual or a group of unwanted and uninvited users interrupt online meetings over the Zoom video conference app.
