Zoombombing is a form of trolling where meeting participants use the screensharing feature within a conference to be disruptive. In some cases, it is not our students who are zoombombing, but outside folks who get hold of links to zoom class meetings. It is important to note that Zoombombing is not limited to the Zoom platform. Here are some suggested strategies to mitigating your risk on each platform:
Please follow CUNY's Zoom Security Protocol when using Zoom. In summary, always set a meeting password, do not share your personal Zoom Meeting for your class, and use the waiting room option. Here is a summary of the recommended security settings:
Additional Resources:
If you’re using Blackboard Collaborate we recommend you do not send the direct link to your Blackboard sessions to your students. Anyone with the “guest link” that Blackboard generates can access your session. Instead, we recommend you create a dedicated content area for your Blackboard Collaborate sessions where students can find all your Collaborate class sessions. For instructions on how to do this see Adding Blackboard Collaborate Ultra as a Permanent Space for Students.
If you're using Google Meet, we highly recommend inviting your students directly via email using a calendar invite by scheduling a meeting as opposed to sharing a public link to your room. As students join the meeting you will be prompted to admit each student as they enter. Be mindful of who you admit, since there is currently no option to disable attendee screen sharing in Google Meet.
Take the following actions if you experience Zoombombing in a Google Meet session:
If you fall victim to Zoombombing again, consider switching to an alternative video conferencing option such as Zoom or Blackboard Collaborate Ultra that has additional settings to limit guest screen sharing.