Coronavirus latest: Ministry of Defence denies claims it has dumped Zoom over security fears

Zoom denies claims that its service is a security risk

The Ministry of Defence has denied claims that it ordered staff to stop using the popular Zoom video conferencing service during the coronavirus lockdown over security concerns.

Instead, it has suggested, services like Zoom are approved for staff and discussions below a certain security clearance level - implying that it isn't used for discussions involving national security.

The MoD was responding to a report from the Press Association suggesting that it had been banned. A message sent to staff stated that the Department was stopping the use of Zoom "with immediate effect whilst we investigate security implications that come with it", according to PA.

And Zoom has also denied that its service is insecure. In a statement, the company said: "Zoom takes user security extremely seriously. Globally, 2,000 institutions ranging from the world's largest financial services companies to leading telecommunications providers, government agencies, universities, healthcare and telemedicine practices have done exhaustive security reviews of our user, network and data centre layers confidently selecting Zoom for complete deployment."

The company added that it is "in close communication" with the MoD and National Cyber Security Centre to provide "the documentation they need".

However, it has been reported that people using Public Zoom ‘hangouts' to connect with colleagues while working from home have been subjected to ‘zoombombings' - trolls taking advantage of the default settings to gatecrash public calls.

Another feature of Zoom, which can tell hosts whether a user has another Window open over Zoom has been criticised as an invasion of privacy.

Specifically addressing the rise in zoombombings, the company responded in a blog post: "Like most other public forums, it's possible to have a person (who may or may not be invited) disrupt an event that's meant to bring people together."

The company has also been accused of sharing data with Facebook, passing on information to the social media behemoth every time a user opens the mobile app. It also passes on device information, time zone, city, mobile operator and a unique identifier to enable individuals to be targeted with adverts, and this information is shared regardless of whether the user has a Facebook account of not.

27^th March: Apple could postpone September's planned iPhone 12 launch
Apple is considering postponing its big September launch of the 5G-enabled iPhone 12 due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

That's according to the Nikkei newswire, which claims that internal discussions have already been held within the company, with executives fearing that even if supply-chain challenges can be overcome, any launch would be overshadowed by the virus.

Virologists anticipate that the outbreak could die during the summer months in the northern hemisphere - but return again in the autumn, coinciding with the company's typical launch cycle.

"Supply chain constraints aside, Apple is concerned that the current situation would significantly lower consumer appetite to upgrade their phones, which could lead to a tame reception of the first 5G iPhone," a source told Nikkei.

The company is expected to reach a decision by May.

Apple is concerned that the current situation would significantly lower consumer appetite to upgrade their phones

The anticipated postponement of the iPhone 12 comes after the company is believed to have canned the launch of a new low-end iPhone SE2, which had been pencilled-in for March.

At the beginning of that month, it was reported that the company had postponed its orders for printed circuit boards (PCBs) for the iPhone SE2 due to the disruption caused to supply chains by coronavirus. While business closed down at the end of January for the week-long Chinese New Year celebrations, lockdowns meant that many businesses stayed closed for much of February.

While those lockdowns have progressively been lifted, with business returning to normal in China, the virus is now ravaging the company's key markets in Europe and the US. Economic uncertainty is expected to bring consumer wallet-tightening, too, regardless of when measures taken to restrict the spread of the virus are lifted.

In mid-February, Apple had warned that it would likely miss its quarterly revenue targets due to the impact that the virus was having in China, where much of the company's products are made. The company said that the crisis had slowed down production and lowered demand for iPhones in China.