Zoom plugs vital security gaps

Zoom takes steps to plug vital security gaps

by | May 7, 2020 | Buzz of the week, Covid-19, Technology, UC & C

After being under fire for Zoombombing mishaps, the videoconferencing app maker has given account owners tools to keep intruders at bay.
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Among the biggest beneficiaries of Covid-19-induced lockdowns have been the videoconferencing apps. With remote work becomes the new normal, enterprises and government organizations are swiftly resorting to video conferencing apps to connect with their employees, customers, and stakeholders. However, unplugged security gaps in a few apps have been a cause of concern.

Zoom, in particular, has experienced a tremendous surge in its user base, from 10 million daily users in December 2019 to more than 200 million daily users in March 2020. Consequently, the company’s fortunes have skyrocketed in the past few months.

As Zoom’s user base swelled, a number of security-related concerns too surfaced. The media coined a now infamous term “Zoombombing,” which refers to the unauthorized intrusion of a person into a Zoom call hosted by another person.

In the first week of April, these security concerns negatively impacted Zoom, after which the company sprang into action to take corrective measures and plug the security gaps.

The latest of these measures was announced on 5 May in a Zoom blog post. “One really great Zoom security feature that was released this past weekend gives you more control over the use of personal meeting IDs (PMIs) in your organization. With this latest release, Zoom account owners and admins can now disable the use of a PMI for scheduling or starting an instant meeting,” the post noted.

It added, “Because PMIs are always accessible using the same ID or meeting link, anyone can join unless they’re properly secured. Disabling the use of PMIs reduces that risk altogether and doesn’t leave PMI security up to individual users. This option to disable PMIs can be locked in the account or group level.”

Rising fortunes

Except for a brief period in early April, the Zoom stock on Nasdaq has seen a relentless climb during a four-month run. The stock hit its historical high of USD169.09 on 23 April 2020 from USD66.15, on 23 December 2019, witnessing nearly three time jump during this period. Zoom’s recent measures to plug the security gaps are likely to pay off even more, going forward.

In India, as in many other countries, Zoom has seen a phenomenal rise in terms of usage. As surveyed by telecom business magazine Voice&Data, “… an overwhelming 54% of corporate respondents in India indicated that they were using Zoom as a tool to enable collaboration between remote workers, as well as for communicating and networking with clients since 25 March 2020, when the nationwide lockdown became effective in India.” The survey further noted, “While 40% of respondents said they use WhatsApp, over 31% indicated using Microsoft Teams for collaboration and communication. Skype and Webex are the other two most popular tools ranking #4 and #5 respectively, with 29% and 26% of those surveyed saying they are using these for business continuity.”

Some inhibitors

Educational institutions, mainly schools and coaching institutes, have been among the key contributors to the surge in Zoom’s user base. However, they are unlikely to be contributing to its top line, as the teachers mostly seem to be using the free version. Since meetings set up using the free version could hold up to 100 participants and last for 40 minutes, they are good enough for organizing online classes divided into periods of 40 minutes each.

The recent concerns around security have been a put-off for some, if not all. Better World is aware of at least one school in Bengaluru that decided to stop using zoom. It opted for Webex instead. The decision came in after one teacher raised concerns before the school management after reading news around the lack of security features in Zoom. Since she was using her personal device in a work-from-home scenario, she was apprehensive that her personal data could get compromised in the wake of a breach.

In another example, a user refused using Zoom, noting that his mobile wallet app issued warning against using the videoconferencing application while accessing the wallet. The other option would have been to not use the mobile wallet application. He decided to keep the wallet app and uninstalled Zoom.

These were all examples of institutions or individuals using the free Zoom versions. Besides, the users in the examples discussed above, have noted that they would be open to reconsidering the application if the security concerns got duly addressed. Zoom, hence, would need to make consistent efforts to adopt the advanced security practices and plug the security gaps. These measures will help it more positively meet the ongoing demand explosion.

Purchase drivers

When it comes to premium versions, Zoom appears to be quite buyer-favorable. It provides the pricing information upfront and allows users to purchase most of the plans quite seamlessly. On the other hand, Webex no longer offer these options, which is quite strange because it used to do so a few years ago. A potential buyer is required to fill up a form, stating one’s requirements. Then, in the next few hours, a salesperson responds seeking some more details. Rather than facilitating a buyer, this serves as a deterrent.

Apart from being buyer friendly, Better World also found Zoom to be quite intuitive and user friendly. With the new enhancements that the company has come up during the weekend gone by, it has also addressed the security concerns to an extent.

The app, has certainly upped the ante in the videoconferencing space. It is no coincident that internet majors, Google and Facebook, announced significant new developments for their respective apps, Google Meet and WhatsApp, from integration and feature perspectives.

This week, Google rolled out an integration of Meet with business Gmail, which allows users to intuitively launch a Meet session from within their business Gmail account. Facebook, on the other hand, lately announced that WhatsApp video calls would now be able to include up to eight people instead of just four earlier.

The somewhat sleepy video conferencing segment is suddenly getting more and more active. Going by the market trends and the Covid-19 anxiety, enterprises are likely to allow a good part of their workforce to continue working from home even after the lockdown eases. This is likely to give information-sharing platforms an unforeseen advantage to enjoy long-term success.

MORE FROM BETTER WORLD

Wind power companies to get lease rent waiver

Wind power companies to get lease rent waiver

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change has decided to relax the mandatory charging of lease rent of Rs 30,000 per MW for wind power projects.

In a review meeting Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar took a conscious decision to relax the condition of charging the lease rent of Rs 30,000 per MW for wind power projects. Javadekar said that it is expected that this step will boost the investment in wind power projects and will help in providing wind power at cheaper rate.

“The government envisages to meet maximum energy requirement by tapping renewal energy resources and, to achieve the target of clean energy in a time bound manner, various policies and regulations are being constantly updated,” said the Environment minister.

Currently, to establish wind power project over forest land, the existing procedure requires payment of mandatory charges for compensatory afforestation and Net Present value (NPV). In addition to mandatory charges, the wind power companies had to pay additional lease rent of Rs 30,000 per MW. This additional cost is not mandatory for other renewal energy projects such as solar power and hydel electric projects. Additional cost for generation of clean energy through wind power, in turn escalates the per unit cost of power at consumer level.

Promotions of such projects are part of Government of India’s growing commitments towards International Agreements. One of the National Commitment pledged in Paris in 2015 was to have 40% of the power from renewable resources by 2030 .It is noteworthy that currently India has over achieved the target and is well on track to ensure that more than 50% of the installed capacity will come from renewable by 2030.

Karnataka tops rooftop solar ranking index

Karnataka tops rooftop solar ranking index

RK Singh, Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy (IC) and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, launched the State Rooftop Solar Attractiveness Index (SARAL) in New Delhi yesterday. The State of Karnataka has been placed at the first rank in the Index that evaluates Indian states based on their attractiveness for rooftop development. Telangana, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have got 2nd, 3rd, and 4th ranks, respectively.

Launching the Index, RK Singh said that it would incentivize rooftop solar by creating healthy competition among the states. He encouraged all states to adopt the best practices being followed by top ranking states.

SARAL has been designed collaboratively by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF), Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), and Ernst & Young (EY). It was launched during the Review Planning and Monitoring (RPM) Meeting with states and state power utilities. SARAL currently captures five key aspects:

  1. Robustness of policy framework
  2. Implementation environment
  3. Investment climate
  4. Consumer experience
  5. Business ecosystem

It encourages each state to assess the initiatives taken so far, and what it can do to improve its solar rooftop ecosystem. This will help states to channelize investments that can eventually help the sector grow. In addition, such an exercise is likely to create a more conducive environment for solar rooftop installations, encourage investment and lead to accelerated growth of the sector.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set a target of 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, of which 100 GW solar power is to be operational by March 2022, of which 40 GW is expected to come from grid connected solar rooftops. The Indian Grid Connected Rooftop PV (GRPV) segment is slowly gaining momentum with substantial interest from entrepreneurs, developers, financial institutions, development banks, end users and government entities. On a very positive note, rooftop solar PV has already achieved grid parity for commercial and industrial consumers and is fast becoming attractive for residential consumers as well.

To achieve our rooftop solar targets, it is important to develop an ecosystem that ensures information symmetry, access to financing and clear market signals. Thus, the MNRE has developed the State Rooftop Solar Attractiveness Index–SARAL that evaluates Indian states based on their attractiveness for rooftop development. SARAL is the first of its kind index to provide a comprehensive overview of state-level measures adopted to facilitate rooftop solar deployment.

Review, Planning & Monitoring Meeting held
Power Minister RK Singh chaired the Review Planning and Monitoring (RPM) Meeting with states and state power utilities. In his address to the state representatives, he emphasized the need to make power sector sustainable and viable so as to ensure 24/7 power supply to all consumers. The meeting discussed various schemes and issues pertaining to the sector such as Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), Integrated Power Distribution Scheme (IPDS), UDAY, 24/7 power supply, etc, said the PIB release.

The meeting was attended by the Secretary, Power, Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, MNRE, Anand Kumar, Special Secretary, Power, Sanjiv Nandan Sahai, Senior officers of the Ministry of Power & MNRE, Principal Secretaries/Secretaries (Energy) of States, CMDs & MDs of Discoms and Power Sector PSUs.

 

Drive to eliminate single use plastic gathers pace

Drive to eliminate single use plastic gathers pace

A day after Lok Sabha Secretariat said it has banned the use of single-use plastic within the Parliament complex, Ministry of Railways has already issued a circular to ban single-use plastics, while Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, has also initiated steps in the direction.

Ministry of Railways issues a circular
Ministry of Railways has directed all Railway units to enforce ban on single use plastic material, with less than 50 micron thickness from 2 October 2019. Emphasis is on making necessary arrangements to minimize generation of plastic waste and its eco- friendly disposal.

In this regard, the Ministry has issued a circular stating the following instructions are to be enforced:

  • Ban on single use plastic material
  • All railway vendors to avoid use of plastic carry bags
  • Staff should reduce, reuse and refuse plastic products and to use inexpensive reusable bags to reduce plastic footprint.
  • IRCTC to implement return of plastic drinking water bottles as part of Extended Producer Responsibility.
  • Plastic Bottle crushing machines to be provided expeditiously.

Strict enforcement of these instructions is to be from 2 October, to give enough time to all concerned to prepare for “Plastic Free Railway,” said a release from the Ministry.

Ministry of Railways has also instructed its Railway units that a pledge can be administered on 2 October 2019 to cut use of plastics. Also, Information, Education & Communication (IEC) measures are to be adapted to create awareness among railway users.

Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying’s move
The Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying has requested Major Dairy Federations like Gujarat Milk Federation (Amul), Karnataka Milk Federation (Nandini), Punjab Milk Federation (Verka), Maharashtra Milk Federation (Mahanand) to encourage reuse of plastic milk pouches, in a campaign mode, with 3R strategy – Reduce, Rebate and Reuse. i.e. REDUCE consumption of plastics by subsidizing price of 1 litre pack over ½ litre pack, REBATE to customers for bringing back plastics, REUSE of pouches for users such as Road construction, recyclers.

Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has requested all Cooperative Milk Federations and Private Dairies to at least halve plastic use by 2 October.  Media was requested to start a campaign like Swachcha Bharat to discourage plastics and thereby improve environment.

AMUL and Mother Dairy were requested to formulate action plan/protocol to recycle milk pouches and share with Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying for circulation to other Milk Federations for implementation.

NPC holds meet on sustainable food safety

NPC holds meet on sustainable food safety

A two-day National Conference on Capacity Building of Sustainable Food Value Chains for Enhanced Food Safety and Quality organized by National Productivity Council (NPC) in collaboration with Asian Productivity Organization, Tokyo, Japan began in New Delhi today. The Conference was inaugurated by Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Chairman of NPC, Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra. In his inaugural address, Dr. Mohapatra highlighted the relevance of sustainable food value chains and the international standards enacted through the Food Safety and Security Act, 2006. He also acknowledged the demand for food safety assurances leading to proliferation of food safety and quality assurance programs, a PIB release said.

Director General, NPC, Arun Kumar Jha, in his address, emphasized on the importance and potential of food processing industry. Chairperson, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Rita Teaotia, in her keynote address said that there is a need to develop the mitigation strategies for curbing food wastages, enhancing food security and food quality.

Dr. Manickam Asaithambi, Asian Productivity Organization, Japan, lauded the efforts of NPC to organize this program on sustainable food value chains which is an international phenomenon. Dr. Manickam Asaithambi expressed hope that the outcomes of the conference will lead to developing sustainable strategies for food safety in India. Technical sessions on various aspects of food value chains, food safety and quality will be conducted during the conference which will conclude tomorrow.

Environment min opens draft NREP for comments

Environment min opens draft NREP for comments

Natural resources form the backbone of any economic development. India, as one of the fastest growing economies with GDP at 2.6 trillion USD, has increased its material consumption to six times, from 1.18 billion tonnes (BT) in 1970 to 7 BT in 2015. The material consumption is expected to increase further to provide for an increasing population, rapid urbanization and growing aspirations. Enhancing resource efficiency and promoting the use of secondary raw materials has emerged as a strategy for ensuring that the potential trade-off between growth, resource constraints and environmental well-being can be minimized.

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change released Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy, 2019 on 25 July 2019 inviting comments and suggestions from stakeholders including public/private organizations, experts and concerned citizens on the draft policy.

The Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy (NREP) envisions a future with environmentally sustainable and equitable economic growth, resource security, healthy environment (air, water and land), and restored ecosystems with rich ecology and biodiversity. The Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy is guided by the principles of (i) reduction in primary resource consumption to ‘sustainable’ levels, in keeping with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and staying within the planetary boundaries, (ii) creation of higher value with less material through resource efficient and circular approaches, (iii) waste minimization, (iv) material security, and creation of employment opportunities and business models beneficial to the cause of environment protection and restoration.

The Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy provides an overarching collaborative framework for resource efficiency across all sectors in the country, covering both biotic and abiotic resources and life cycle stages and aspires for cross-sectoral stakeholder partnerships for the cause of resource efficiency for sustainable development.

The Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy (NREP) is available online on Ministry’s website at http://moef.gov.in/draft-national-resource-efficiency-policy2019-inviting-comments-and-suggestions-of-stakeholders-including-publicprivate-organization-experts-and-concerned-citizens/.

Comments and suggestions in prescribed format will be accepted till 24 August 2019.

MoHUA workshop lays focus on tech usage

MoHUA workshop lays focus on tech usage

Dr. Thawar Chand Gehlot, Union Minister, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJ&E) has stated that the Government is fully committed to eradicate manual scavenging through the ‘The Prevention of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.’ He was speaking at the national Workshop Cum Exhibition on Sustainable Sanitation organized by MoSJ&E and the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in Delhi today.

Through a series of panel discussions through the day, the workshop saw discussions and presentation of best practices on topics such as Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) based biomethanation under Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoP&NG), MSW to Bio-CNG through biomethanation and cotreatment of organic fraction of MSW with sludge.

The national workshop aimed at providing a comprehensive roadmap for ensuring sustainable sanitation in urban areas. (Image tweeted by @HardeepSPuri)

The day long interaction among stakeholders is aimed at providing a comprehensive roadmap for ensuring sustainable sanitation in urban areas. States and ULBs will take these insights into their respective areas to further strengthen their strategy for achieving safe, sustainable and holistic sanitation.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Housing & Urban Affairs, Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MohUA, Nilam Sawhney, Secretary, MoSJ&E and more than 500 representatives including the Principal Secretaries (UD), Mission Directors of AMRUT & Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) in States/Union Territories, Municipal Commissioners of 500 cities with population of 1 lakh and above and development partners besides senior official from both the ministries attended the workshop.

Gehlot added that the Government has been laying increasing emphasis on mechanical cleaning and preventing human entry into sewer and septic tanks to the extent possible through the use of modern technologies. Further, he said, “Through the National Safai Karmacharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) formal integration of these workers is being done through the disbursement of grants, provision of loans and livelihood training programs. I am happy to see that this workshop cum exhibition today will showcase the varied measures, best practices and technologies available that will go a long way in preventing fatalities due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. Swachh Bharat is indeed the first step towards Swasth Bharat.”

Addressing the gathering Puri said, “Our Ministry has consistently made efforts to devise efficient systems, processes and technologies for mechanical cleaning of sewer and septic tanks. The Ministry has undertaken various initiatives to eliminate human entry into septic tanks and sewers and create an ecosystem for sustainable sanitation – the publication of documents such as the CPHEEO Manual on Sewerage and Sewage Treatment Systems (2013) and Standard Operating Procedures for Cleaning of Sewers and Septic Tanks (2018) or organizing of the Global Technology Challenge, being some of them. The workshop today will be another step in this direction. The launch of the guidance document on “Emergency Response Sanitation Unit (ERSU) will go a long way in preventing fatalities of sanitation workers and guarantee their safety and well-being.”

He further added, “The Manual on Stormwater Drainage Systems, 2019 released today, shall add a feather to the recently launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan by the Government and help cities and towns in water conservation, protection from flooding and water security. The Ministry is fully committed to support the endeavors of States & Urban Local Bodies as they progress towards total sanitation or Sampoorna Swachhata.”

Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA said, “While the Directory of Sewer & Septage Cleaning Equipment launched today will be a guiding book for Urban Local Bodies as well as practitioners, the exhibition by prominent manufacturers and vendors showcasing emerging technologies, equipment and best practices on sewer and septic tank management will help provide customized solutions to city specific requirements in this area.”

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