Zoom Video Communications (ZM -0.68%), the video conferencing app made popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, has made its first acquisition as it aims to beef up the security of its offering.
Zoom announced it is acquiring Keybase, a secure messaging and file-sharing service for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is expected to help Zoom speed up its plan to build end-to-end encryption on the Zoom platform.
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“There are end-to-end encrypted communications platforms. There are communications platforms with easily deployable security. There are enterprise-scale communications platforms. We believe that no current platform offers all of these,” said Zoom CEO Eric Yuan in announcing the acquisition. “The first step is getting the right team together. Keybase brings deep encryption and security expertise to Zoom.”
Last month, amid criticism of lax security on its platform, including hackers disrupting meetings and data being sent through servers based in China, Zoom announced a 90-day plan to improve security on its platform and win the trust of its customers. School districts, companies, and even government agencies have banned the use of Zoom when conducting official business. Since then the company has made some progress, rolling out a software update last month that strengthened encryption on the service and gives more control to account administrations. Zoom has also brought on Facebook’s former security chief and now an adjunct professor at Stanford Alex Stamos as an advisor.
The tech stock said the Keybase team will be tasked with identifying, addressing, and enhancing the security and privacy on the platform. Keybase co-founder and developer Max Krohn will lead the security team at Zoom, reporting directly to Yuan. “Our team is passionate about security and privacy, and it is an honor to be able to bring our encryption expertise to a platform used by hundreds of millions of participants a day,” said Krohn in prepared remarks.
