Zoom buys Keybase -- its first acquisition -- as part of 90-day plan to fix security flaws

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/07/zoom-buys-keybase-in-first-deal-as-part-of-plan-to-fix-security.html

By Ari Levy
CNBC.com
May 7, 2020

Zoom has acquired security start-up Keybase, the first purchase in the company’s
nine-year history.

With in-person dealmaking off the table because of social distancing
requirements, the negotiations took place over Zoom video calls. Terms of the
deal weren’t disclosed.

The acquisition of the 25-person start-up is the latest move in a 90-day plan
that Zoom announced on April 1 to fix its security flaws. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan
told CNBC the company needed a solution for users who are demanding the highest
level of privacy and certainty that uninvited participants have no access to
their conversations.

When Keybase is implemented, the Zoom user who schedules a meeting will be able
to choose end-to-end encryption. That setting will prevent anyone from calling
in by phone, which is one way people can access meetings, and will disable
cloud-based recording of the chat. Yuan said it’s critical that users know that
the encryption key is not on Zoom’s servers, so the company has no access to the
contents of the call.

[...]

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