US congressional staffers have reportedly been informed that they're not allowed to make use of WhatsApp on authorities units. The Home of Representatives' chief administrative officer (CAO) is alleged to have knowledgeable staff on Monday that the app — together with the cell, desktop and web-based variations — isn’t permitted on Home-managed units.
"The Workplace of Cybersecurity has deemed WhatsApp a excessive threat to customers because of the lack of transparency in the way it protects person information, absence of saved information encryption and potential safety dangers concerned with its use," the CAO wrote in an electronic mail, in response to Axios. Microsoft Groups, Wickr, Sign (regardless of how simple it could be to unintentionally invite a reporter to a delicate group chat), iMessage and FaceTime have been reportedly cited as acceptable options, and the CAO reminded staff to be vigilant relating to potential phishing scams.
"We disagree with the Home Chief Administrative Officer’s characterization within the strongest potential phrases," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone wrote on X. "We all know members and their staffs repeatedly use WhatsApp and we sit up for guaranteeing members of the Home can be part of their Senate counterparts in doing so formally. Messages on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted by default, that means solely the recipients and never even WhatsApp can see them. This can be a increased stage of safety than a lot of the apps on the CAO’s accepted listing that don’t provide that safety."
The step follows limitations on congressional staffers' use of different apps (together with generative AI ones) that the CAO has deemed to be dangerous. These embrace ChatGPT, TikTok, DeepSeek (which some states and federal departments have additionally banned from authorities units) and Microsoft Copilot.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/us-house-reportedly-bans-whatsapp-on-government-devices-161557444.html?src=rss