Republican says panel should no longer use Zoom

Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), the top Republican on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, called Friday for an end to using Zoom to conduct the panel’s business remotely due to potential security concerns.

Jordan wrote in a letter to Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) that the Zoom video conferencing software, which has become popular for teleworking and virtual social gatherings during the pandemic, did not appear to meet necessary security standards.

Congressional briefing disrupted: Jordan claimed that a recent briefing on women’s rights in Afghanistan was repeatedly “Zoom-bombed,” a term for hackers or other uninvited individuals disrupting meetings on the platform. He said in the letter that “the impact of hacking on malware on member and staff devices is still being determined.”

A House GOP aide told The Hill that “unauthorized callers from unknown entities tried no fewer than three times to infiltrate a meeting meant only for members of Congress and their staff, which resulted in significant interruption and delay.”

Democrats push back: Despite Jordan’s claim, Democrats denied there were any security disruptions for the committee either during the Afghanistan briefing or another Zoom meeting with the Postmaster General. An aide said there had only been a miscommunication in which the moderator was not informed about some individuals who were invited to the first briefing.

“Rep. Jordan’s office was consulted directly and repeatedly about using Zoom and never raised any concerns, so it’s unfortunate that he is now putting out inaccurate information in this public letter. Had his office consulted with us first, we could have clarified their misunderstandings and provided more information about the steps the committee has already taken to address any potential issues,” Maloney said in a statement.