What is Zoom Bombing | How It Happens

Zoom bombing (also known as “Zoom raiding”) is a form of cyber-harassment where an unwanted intruder disrupts a video conference call.

Although the term originated with the Zoom platform during the pandemic boom, it now applies to any video conferencing tool (Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex) where an uninvited guest crashes the session.

Given your interest in online safety and troubleshooting, here is the technical breakdown of how it happens and how to stop it.

How It Happens

It is rarely a “hack” in the traditional sense (involving coding or breaking encryption). It is usually a result of security hygiene failures:

1. Publicly Shared Links: A host posts the meeting link on social media (Twitter/X, Facebook) or a public website. Bots or trolls scrape these sites for active links.

2. Guessable Meeting IDs: Early on, Meeting IDs were often sequential or easily guessed. Attackers would “war dial” (randomly try IDs) until they found an open room.

3. Missing Passwords: The meeting is set up without a password or “Waiting Room,” allowing anyone with the link to join instantly.

What the Intruders Do

Once inside, “Zoom bombers” typically aim to cause maximum chaos before being kicked out:

• Screen Sharing: They hijack the screen to display pornography, violent shock videos, or hate symbols.

• Audio Spam: They scream into the microphone or blast loud, distorted music.

• Chat Flooding: They spam the chat box with repetitive or offensive text to drown out legitimate conversation.

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Prevention Checklist (How to Secure Your Calls)

If you are hosting a meeting, use these settings to “hardens” your room against intruders:

1. Enable the Waiting Room: This is your best defense. It acts as a digital bouncer—you must manually admit every person who tries to join.

2. Lock the Meeting: Once all your expected participants are present, click “Security” > “Lock Meeting.” No one else can join, even with the correct password.

3. Disable “Join Before Host”: Ensure the meeting cannot start until you are there to supervise.

4. Restrict Screen Sharing: Set screen sharing to “Host Only” by default. You can temporarily grant permission to specific people if needed during the call.

5. Use Unique IDs: Never use your “Personal Meeting ID” (PMI) for public events. Always generate a unique ID for every new meeting.