Staff Reporter
Unknown hackers interrupted an online video conference hosted by the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities by posting pornographic images during the live session on Wednesday.
Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane was expected to speak on the effects of COVID-19 on vulnerable members of society during the digital meeting.
The department said the meeting had been made public to increase attendance on the video conferencing app Zoom but hackers then took control of the screen and displayed pornography.
“We would like to unreservedly apologise for the incident where we had unsavoury characters getting into the scheduled Zoom meeting and have shared nude images and propaganda,” department spokesperson Shalen Gajadhar said.
“About 400 people had indicated interest to join the meeting and we couldn’t vet them because we had received requests just prior to the meeting.”
The use of Zoom, an online platform for meetings, has increased during the coronavirus pandemic as more people work from home.
While the number of people who use the platform has increased, so have the hacking attempts.
This has led to “Zoom bombings” – hacking attacks which result in meetings being hijacked and interrupted with pornography and racial slurs.
So many that schools, major corporations and even governments elsewhere across the globe have banned the use of the virtual meeting service.