Toronto police say they have seen an increased reporting of incidents involving the hijacking of virtual meeting spaces over the last several weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Police said active investigations are underway of online video meetings being interrupted by uninvited guests who share hate-related or child sexual abuse content.
Police are urging those organizing virtual meetings to take the following recommended steps:
- If possible, do not make your meeting ID public.
- Create a unique meeting ID for each session.
- Require a meeting password that is known only by invited guests.
- Preview meeting attendees in a virtual waiting room before having them join the session.
- If possible, only have the host stream video and do not allow file transfers during the meeting.
However, police warned these tips cannot guarantee the security of the virtual meetings.
“While these tips cannot guarantee the security of virtual meetings, it will be more difficult for anyone to interrupt the stream with traumatic and/or illegal content,” police said.
Anyone who has been the victim of such an attack is encouraged to contact investigators at 416-808-2222 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477.