Zoom boosts video communication security with two factor authentication

Zoom's Two Factor Authentication (2FA) feature can help organizations reduce the risk of identity theft and security breaches by adding an extra layer of security.

Zoom has been providing video communication services for several years, but it came global prominence only after the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020. Due to the pandemic-induced market lockdown and closure of offices and schools, it became a go-to video conference solution for corporates and educational institutions.

However, the company also faced criticism for not having a proper user-privacy protection policy. Since March 2020, it has steadily scaped up the security including acquiring  a start-up Keybase, to offer end-to-end encryption on the video conference app

Now, the company has announced to bring the Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) feature for Zoom Video conference service.

"With 2FA, organizations can reduce the risk of identity theft and security breaches by adding an extra layer of security that prevents bad actors from accessing accounts by guessing passwords or gaining access to employees’ or students’ devices," the company said. Also, 2FA features spare users from constantly changing passwords.

Here's how to activate the 2FA feature:
Step 1: Sign-in to the Zoom Dashboard
Step 2: In the navigation menu, click Advanced, then Security. 
Step 3: Make sure the Sign in with Two-Factor Authentication option is enabled.
Step 4: Select any one of the options below to enable 2FA for:
---All users in your account: Enable 2FA for all users in the account.
---Users with specific roles: Enable 2FA for roles with the specified roles. Click Select specified roles, choose the roles, then click OK.
---Users belonging to specific groups: Enable 2FA for users that are in the specified groups. Click the pencil icon, choose the groups, then click OK.
Step 5: Click ‘Save’ to confirm your 2FA settings.

It should be noted that the users have the option to use authentication apps that support Time-Based One-Time Password (TOTP) protocol (such as Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and FreeOTP), or have Zoom send a code via SMS or phone call, as the second factor of the account authentication process.

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