By Tanya Smith-Cartwright

tscartwright@tribunemedia.net

A MEETING of experts on COVID-19 analysis was disrupted on Friday when the video messaging service used was interrupted with gay pornography.

The University of The Bahamas was using Zoom for the forum on a scientific analysis of mathematical models to assess the COVID-19 outbreak in The Bahamas.

The meeting started on schedule at noon but was soon interrupted with the first presenter, Dr Danny Davis, the university’s director of institutional strengthening, only ten minutes into his presentation.

Instead of the scientific analysis, screens were showing gay pornography.

Dean of Graduate Studies and Research Dr Vik Nair, a professor of sustainable tourism, alerted those attending. “We’ve been hacked! End the meeting, end the meeting,” he said.

Not realising what happened, Dr Davis eventually apologised and shut down the meeting.

The forum was also intended to present information on the impact of structural weaknesses in Bahamian society on the country’s COVID-19 response.

Zoom has been widely used after the coronavirus outbreak for video conferencing – but a number of incidents of “Zoom-bombing” have taken place in which other people join in video meetings and disrupt them.

The software manufacturers released a new security update this week, Zoom 5.0, in an attempt to tackle concerns.