Canada Bans WeChat and Kaspersky on Government Phones
30-Oct-23
Citing privacy and security concerns, Canada on Monday prohibited the use of the well-known Chinese messaging software WeChat and the Russian platform Kaspersky on official cellphones and other mobile devices. According to a statement, the suite of apps will be promptly taken off of devices provided by the government, and users will not be able to download them in the future.
The chief information officer of Canada, according to Treasury Board President Anita Anand, oversees the federal public sector, has concluded that the apps “present an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security."x000D Although no security breaches have been found, she noted that the platforms’ mobile data gathering practices “provide considerable access to the device’s contents.”
