Managing Zoom-Bombing Incidents
Read this guide to understand what Zoom bombs are and how you can prevent and defuse them.
What Is a Zoom Bomb?
A Zoom-bombing incident occurs when an uninvited guest disrupts your online Zoom meeting with visual, video or audio content. Zoom bombers can be humans or machines and can catch you off guard. If you host a Zoom meeting, there is a possibility that you might need to manage such an incident.
What Can I Do About Zomb Bombs?
While it’s difficult to prevent Zoom-bombing incidents, being prepared helps you manage them more readily.
- Train your hosts and moderators.
- Rehearse your code of conduct processes.
- Evaluate and adjust.
Tips and Tricks for Preventing Zoom Bombs
Do
- use a password
- share the host code with your colleagues and practise how to claim host
- use the waiting room function
- make sure the host has a helper
- set meetings to move on entry and disable chat
- only enable presenters to share their screen
- lock the meeting when all expected participants have arrived
- require sign-ins with organisational IDs, if possible.
Don’t
- use your private Zoom room
- share the Zoom URL publicly.
How Can I Defuse a Zoom Bomb?
Sometimes, the inevitable happens and you are confronted with a Zoom bomber in your meeting.
You can quickly defuse the situation by following these steps:
Adjust security settings to:
- suspend participant activities
- enable waiting room – this prevents automatic re-entry
- remove participant – this prevents rejoining unless the option is enabled under meeting settings.
Request that participants remain calm and follow guidance.
- Stop recording, especially if it’s being streamed.
- Mute all.
- Turn off chat.
- Disable screen sharing, if it’s not already for presenters only.
- If possible, make the report while the meeting is in progress.
- If the problem persists, consider adjourning the meeting.
- Acknowledge the incident, allow time for recovery and help participants understand you’ve prepared for such incidents.
- Adjourn the meeting if the problem persists and follow up promptly with an update or a plan for a make-up meeting.
- Inform your manager.
- Refer to your organisation’s code of conduct to report the incident.
Learn More
Read more about Zoom’s in-meeting security options.
The steps explained in this guide here are suggestions only. You should always refer to the Zoom support page for the most up-to-date tips as Zoom updates their products from time to time.
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Last updated
21 February 2023
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