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France bans ministers from WhatsApp

French government document says this and Signal app are 'digital tools' that are 'not devoid of security flaws'.

La rédaction de Mediapart

1 December 2023 à 10h27

This article is freely available.

French prime minister Élisabeth Borne has banned widely used messaging applications WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal for ministers and their teams due to security vulnerabilities, according to a memo seen by POLITICO.

"These digital tools are not devoid of security flaws, and therefore cannot guarantee the security of conversations and information shared via them," reads the document, dated November 22.

Borne set a deadline of December 8 for the government to switch to using the French app Olvid instead, which is certified by France's cybersecurity agency ANSSI.

Tchap, the government-developed secure messaging and collaboration app, launched in 2019, is also allowed.

Read more of this report from POLITICO.

La rédaction de Mediapart

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