29 Jul Zoom expands E2EE to Zoom Phone and Breakout Rooms

Zoom has expanded its online features to now offer users Zoom Phone and Breakout Rooms.

The newly released key features also include data routing control, in-product privacy notifications, end-to-end encryption (E2EE) and more insights for customers to be in control of their own information and insight. The new features also promise users to still receive the same ‘seamless and secure communication’ they have previously received from the global communication platform.

E2EE for Zoom Phone

Users will have a new option to upgrade to E2EE during one-on-one, intra-account phone calls that occur via the Zoom client. During a call, users can select “More” and see an option to elevate the session to an end-to-end encrypted phone call. The upgrade takes a second and helps add an extra layer of privacy to phone calls occurring over Zoom. Additionally, users will have the option to verify E2EE status by providing a unique security code to one another.

When enabled, end-to-end encryption uses the same Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP) with 256-bit AES-GCM encryption that supports standard Zoom Phone calls to encrypt call media between callers using Zoom desktop and mobile clients. The difference is that the cryptographic keys are known only to the devices of the callers.

To successfully elevate a Zoom Phone call to be end-to-end encrypted, users need to have a few things in place first:

• The account admin will have to turn on E2EE via the web portal
• Callers will need to be on the same Zoom account, and can only make one-to-one phone calls
• Both callers will need to use the Zoom Phone desktop or mobile client (PSTN and hardware devices are not supported)
• Both the callers will need to have automatic call recording turned off

E2EE for Breakout Rooms

Breakout Rooms has been a key feature on Zoom previously, but will now be offered to E2EE users who want to be able to offer participants the opportunity for smaller discussions away from the main conversation.

It’s expected to be the same experience as a standard E2EE meeting, except each breakout room gets its own unique meeting encryption key. Users can use this feature when they need to add an extra layer of security to important and private conversations, or just want to get certain people together during an E2EE meeting.