WhatsApp a high-security risk due to …: Read US House of Representatives’ notice to staff banning Mark Zuckerberg’s messaging app
WhatsApp is ‘security risk’, so says a memo from the US House of Representatives that has reportedly banned the use of the messaging app on all government-managed devices used by the Congressional staff. Citing cybersecurity concerns, a memo from the office of chief administrative officer labeled WhatsApp as ‘high-risk’ app. The memo states, that the app lacks transparency and absence of stored data encryption. The memo also mentions that WhatsApp can be easily affected by potential vulnerabilities because of the way it handles user information.
WhatsApp banned in US House of Representatives, here’s why
As reported by Reuters, the directive, issued by the House Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) states, “The Office of Cybersecurity has deemed WhatsApp a high risk to users due to the lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data encryption, and potential security risks involved with its use.”The directive issued by the office of chief administrative officer directs all the staff members to uninstall WhatsApp from all House devices which include smartphone, desktop and web versions. On the other hand, the memo recommends the staff to use WhatsApp’s rival platforms such as Signal, Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime, Microsoft Teams and Amazon’s Wickr.
What Meta said about WhatsApp ban in US House of Representatives
WhatsApp’s parent company meta has disagrees with this move. The company spokesperson Andy Stone told Reuters that WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption by default, so the company claims that the app offer better security as compared to its alternatives. “We know members and their staffs regularly use WhatsApp and we look forward to ensuring members of the House can join their Senate counterparts in doing so officially,” Andy Stone told Reuters.The ban on WhatsApp is followed by the January incident. Earlier this year, WhatsApp disclosed that Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions had affected dozens of users which also include journalists and civil society members. The House previously banned TikTok in 2022 over similar concerns.
