The Crown Prosecution Service has recently confirmed the increase in suspects using video-conferencing tool ZOOM to access unlawful content, including child pornography and indecent images.
Zoom Video Communications provides remote conferencing, online meetings, and mobile collaboration. Features within the software allow one user to anonymously stream content to everyone in the "virtual room".
The CPS confirmed the rise after a US-led international investigation into suspects' use of video conferencing facilities.
Investigators have the ability to record and track a suspect's use of the video conferencing tool. Once the suspect's equipment has been seized by law enforcement, the use of the tool can be confirmed by forensic analysis.
However, use of the tool is not illegal. The prosecution must prove that the making or possession of such images was deliberate and with knowledge. Images could appear in a computer cache among many legal images, and could have been downloaded without appearing on a computer screen.
When analysing data, law enforcement officials will check chat logs on a suspect's smartphone and computer hard drives. This evidence could be more incriminating than the images themselves.