Prevent Zoom Bombing

Summary

Basic steps to make Zoom meetings more secure

Body

Introduction

Zoom bombing is when an uninvited attendee joins your meeting and attempts to cause disruption. Below are some basic preventative measures that may help to reduce the risk of encountering a Zoom bomber.

Add a Zoom Meeting Link in ISU Canvas

To ensure your Zoom meetings are secure, create your scheduled Zoom meeting using ISU Canvas. For more information, see Adding a Zoom Meeting Link in ISU Canvas for Faculty.

Require a Meeting Passcode

When setting up the Zoom session, check the box that requires a meeting password to join. You will still share the link with your class but also provide the password, typically in a separate email. Students can then click the link and enter the password to join the session.

Set Up a Waiting Room

When you set up the Zoom session, enable the Waiting room feature so that you can monitor who is allowed to join a meeting.

Require Authentication to Join

When you set up the Zoom session, enable Require authentication to join. This prevents participants from joining as “Guests” and instead prompts the user to sign into their Zoom account. This ensures that each participant is associated with an email address. The host can create an authentication exception for individuals that don't have a Zoom account.

Utilize Host Tools

As the Host of the meeting, you will find the Host Tools tab on the toolbar. This tab offers quick access to various tools and permissions throughout the meeting. If there is a disruption, the Host can choose to Suspend Participant Activities, which will disable all participants' video, audio, and Zoom Apps and their ability to share screens. Additionally, the Host can lock the meeting to prevent any new participants from joining, including those using a Zoom Room.

Manage participants

The meeting host can take actions against disruptive participants. Participants removed during the current session can still rejoin future sessions.

Put in Waiting Room - Temporarily places the participant in a virtual waiting room.
Remove - Permanently remove the participant from the current meeting session.
Report - Reports the participant to Zoom's Trust and Safety team.

Lock the Meeting

As the host, you can lock the meeting once all participants have joined. In the Host Tools tab, select Lock Meeting to prevent any unwanted attendees from entering.

Create a New Meeting for your next session

When you create a new meeting, a new ID and passcode will be generated. It is recommended to enable additional security options: Enable waiting room and require authentication to join.

Report

To report Zoom Bombing incidents, please email help@isu.edu with the impacted meeting ID and the date and time of the event. If there is an increase in Zoom Bombing incidents, ISU's Zoom administrator can review and adjust the account-level security settings.

Additional Information

For additional information please visit the Zoom Support Website.

Contact ITS if you need additional assistance

Details

Article ID: 104815

Created

Wed 4/8/20 1:31 PM

Modified

Wed 9/17/25 3:36 PM