In mid-April the Waikato District Council announced that District Plan hearings would be continuing despite the Covid-19 emergency restrictions on physical meeting. The Council advised that they would be using the popular Zoom video conferencing service for the hearings.
As many businesses such as Daimler and Bank of America are banning the use of Zoom for video meetings, Raglan 23 asked the Waikato Council what steps it was taking to overcome the security concerns in regard to Zoom.
The Council advised that they are following advice from the Government Communications Security Bureau (GSCB) for all meetings conducted using Zoom. A spokesperson said, “Council, like many businesses around the country, is continuing with its work through this lockdown period. A large number of businesses around New Zealand are using Zoom, even the Government. We have implemented a large number of safety recommendations for our meetings such as not publishing meeting links, having a virtual waiting room and allowing screen sharing by the host only. We have worked through the latest guidance provided by the GSCB, which I have attached for you. (See below)”
Waikato District Council says it is confident that the security measures they have put in place will prevent someone from “hacking” the hearings.