'Zoom Bomb' Turns Vernon Ed Meeting Into Bad Vocabulary Lesson

VERNON, CT — Those attending a virtual open house in Vernon on school reopening procedures Monday had a lesson in bad vocabulary after a "Zoom bomb," but the local superintendent of schools said he will be changing procedures to thwart the possibility next time around.

The meeting was set up by Vernon Superintendent of Schools Joseph Macary and was designed to answer questions from parents and guardians about the 2020-21 academic year. Partly into the meeting, a voice emerged and went on a curse word rant that lasted about 15 seconds.

The meeting was restarted and the hacker was gone. Macary called it a "Zoom bomb" orchestrated by a "member of the public."

He also termed it a "lesson learned."

He said the problem with Monday's meeting was that it was public. The link to the meeting was sent out to about 5,000 people and shared in social media circles.

There will be no more of that, Macary said. Open houses will now be more secure with pre-registration and a waiting room system through a "top end" Zoom license, he added.

"It was a mistake to make the meeting public and we will not do that again," Macary said. "We were susceptible to Zoom bombing."

Macary said the susyem through which classes will be shared online is secure with each class member being pre-registered.