Zoombombing Prevention and Reporting

You may have heard of a recent phenomenon called “Zoombombing” where an uninvited guest makes an appearance in a virtual session and shares inappropriate content or is otherwise disruptive. Although we have not had any reported instances of this behavior at Valpo, we wanted to provide you with some resources to proactively combat any instances of this behavior, as well as the steps to take should you experience it.

First, always think about how to protect the privacy of your meeting. Each virtual platform has support to assist you. Google Meet and WebEx are Valpo’s preferred and supported programs. If you use WebEx, visit the suggestions on the WebEx Help Center. For Google Meet, see your security options in the “Counter Abuse Measures” section of Google’s security page. If you need assistance or support in understanding your security options, please reach out to the Valpo IT Support or by phone at 219.464.5678. IT and VITAL do not support Zoom, but if you are using it anyways, Zoom Support and PC Magazine have several suggestions how to keep Zoom meetings safe.

Second, if your meeting falls victim to “Zoombombing” please make the following reports:

• If your meeting was hacked, please report the event to VUPD at 219.464.5430.
• If the Zoombomber made inappropriate discriminatory comments on the basis of sex, religion, race, national origin, ethnicity, disability, gender, or any protected status, report to the incident to the Title IX office using the online reporting form or by emailing titleix@valpo.edu. Resources will be provided to affected individuals as appropriate.
• If the Zoombomber was disruptive or made inappropriate comments that do not rise to a violation of University policy, but should nonetheless be addressed, report to the Bias Response Team using the online reporting form.