Zoom, a video conferencing app that has gained tremendous popularity amid Covid-19 outbreak, has taken over Keybase, a company facilitating end-to-end encryption.
The acquisition revealed on May 7 comes close on the heels of several privacy and safety linked untoward incidences, including the dawn of video session gatecrashing (“zoombombing”), contentious info distribution with Facebook, fake news stating that video calls were encrypted, and disclosures that despicable people were offering details associated with half a million Zoom accounts on the darknet.
Under the terms of the new agreement, Keybase will turn out to be a subsidiary of Zoom and its group will head security engineering work to build an end-to-end encryption element offered for subscribers.
Established in 2014, Keybase was backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Reddit’s co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and also the Stellar Development Foundation, with which it also unveiled a $120 million Stellar (XLM) airdrop in fall of 2019.
Keybase’s safe messaging and cloud-powered file-distribution services utilize public key cryptography and provide a publicly-auditable record for validating electronic identities.
As a portion of 90-day security scheme to nullify problems highlighted by recent fiascos, Zoom states that it intends to release an elaborate draft cryptographic framework on May 22 and will conduct negotiation seminars to receive response from partakers, general public and cryptographic professionals.
Through a statement, Keybase stated there are no immediate plans for the Keybase app but eventually its direction is “in Zoom’s hands.”
Worries over Zoom’s privacy and safety handicaps have triggered the creation of blockchain-powered video chat solutions, including a unique decentralized application (dApp) from VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) leader Vonage co-founder Jeff Pulver.
Other than privacy, restrictions with embedding various mode of payments into Zoom have encouraged the creation of third-party crypto payment solutions, for example SmartSessions of 2key Network.
