InfoSecBulletin Cybersecurity for mankind
The U.S. House of Representatives has banned congressional staff from using WhatsApp on government devices due to security concerns, as stated by the House Chief Administrative Officer.
“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 CAO said in a memo, according to Axios.
WhatsApp banned on all US House of Representatives devices
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House staff cannot download the app on any government-issued devices, including mobile and desktop.
WhatsApp has pushed back against these concerns, stating messages sent on the platform are end-to-end encrypted by default, and that it offers a “higher level” of security than most of the apps on CAO’s approved list.
“We disagree with the House Chief Administrative Officer’s characterization in the strongest possible terms,” Meta’s Communication Director Andy Stone said in a post on social media site X.
“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.”
Reuters reported, The memo, from the chief administrative officer, recommended using other messaging apps, including Microsoft Corp’s (MSFT.O), opens new tab Teams platform, Amazon.com’s (AMZN.O), opens new tab Wickr, Signal, and Apple’s (AAPL.O), opens new tab iMessage and FaceTime.
The House has banned other apps from staff devices in the past, including the short video app TikTok in 2022 due to security issues.
Kaspersky found “SparkKitty” Malware on Google Play, Apple App Store
