In Ukraine, military personnel and officials are prohibited from using official devices Telegramas announced by the National Security and Defense Council.
This is because it is believed that Russian secret services may have access to the correspondence of the app’s users.
“It is decided prohibit the installation and use of Telegram on official devices government officials, military personnel, security and defense workers, and companies operating critical infrastructure,” the Council said in a statement.
“Main source of information leaks”
The military “often uses it to discuss confidential work issues,” a senior Ukrainian security official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“It’s a big source of information leaks because Telegram is easily hacked” by the Russians, he explained.
The meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, which took the decision, was attended by representatives of the Ukrainian secret services
Do Russian intelligence agencies have access?
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service, Kirill Budanov, said there was “documented information” showing that Russian intelligence services “have access to the personal correspondence of Telegram users, even deleted messages, as well as their personal data.”
Representatives of the Ukrainian security services assured us that Telegram is used by Moscow “for cyber attacks, for the dissemination of phishing and malicious software, for the geolocation of users, for the correction of missile attacks, etc.”, according to the announcement of the National Security and Defense Council.
However, the ban only applies to devices used by military personnel and officials and not to their private devices.
Pavel Durov, who founded the messaging app in 2013 and is its CEO, was arrested in France in August and charged with posting illegal content on the app.
The 39-year-old Russian billionaire, who holds several passports including a French one, is currently not allowed to leave France.
The app has officially pledged to never reveal information about its users. It is widely used in Russia, Ukraine, and many other countries, both for official and private communications.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posts daily messages there, as do his ministers and various branches of the military.
On the Russian side, it is used by the Ministry of Defense, senior pro-war officials and bloggers, as well as representatives of the exiled opposition.
Sources: AMPE, AFP
