Ukrainian officials and military personnel to be banned using Telegram on work devices

Source: National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC)

Telgram kaput? Ukrainian civil servants, military personnel and workers in critical infrastructure companies are now banned to use use of the Telegram messenger on their work devices after Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council ruled the country needs to “counteract threats in a cyberspace’.

The meeting held on Friday was attended by key military, intelligence and national security chiefs like Kyrylo Budanov.

The head of Ukraine’s military intelligency agency claimed Russian intelligence services have access to the private communications and personal data of Telegram users.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine joined the chorus of the complaints arguing that Telegram is being used for “cyberattacks, phishing, spreading malicious software, tracking user geolocation, and even guiding missile strikes”.

“To mitigate these threats, a decision was made to ban the installation and use of Telegram on official devices belonging to state authorities, military personnel, security and defense workers, and critical infrastructure operators,” said the National Security and Defense Council in its statement.

The verdict though offered an exception for “individuals whose job responsibilities specifically require the use of this messenger”.