WhatsApp: EU Commission recommends switching to Messenger service signal
© picture alliance / dpa
The EU Commission has doubts and concerns about the security of WhatsApp. She recommends diplomats to switch to another messenger service.
- The EU-Commission doubts about the security of WhatsApp *.
- The EU Commission recommends that its employees switch to the news app signal,
- End-to-end encryption of Whatsapp less certain than many think.
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More than two billion people worldwide use the messenger service Whatsapp, This applies to some of them app, at the latest since the takeover of Facebook, as an insecure instant messaging service. Now she has EU Commission Concerns and doubts expressed about the security of WhatsApp.
One is not sure whether WhatsApp meets the security requirements for the news-Exchange of sensitive information enough among diplomats.
To make this news better in the future espionage To protect, the EU Commission now recommends another one to its employees Messenger-Service. Essentially for communication with people outside the authority.
WhatsApp: EU Commission recommends switching to Messenger service signal
The EU recommends that their employees switch to the Messenger service and Whatsapp-Konkurrenten signal, This app is intended to make communication between diplomats more secure in the future. The in-house expert group “Information Technology and Cybersecurity Board” (ITCB) takes care of that IT– Questions from the EU Commission.
“ITCB recommends using this app For signaling the exchange of public information and the daily instant communication among colleagues as a transition until Skype for companies on mobile phones (S4BM), ”says the expert group of the EU Commission. “The earlier the better” is the change to Messenger-Service signal, which according to the team of experts is a safe WhatsApp alternative. The launch of the new app is not, however mandatory,
WhatsApp: EU Commission does not provide end-to-end encryption – signal is recommended
By default, private WhatsApp messages are secured by end-to-end encryption. Meanwhile, however metadata like message size, name of contacts, Time and date from the messenger service with the parent company Facebook divided. This makes it possible to draw conclusions about the type and frequency of communication. This is not the case with the Messenger service Signal.
“For civil servants from foreign and defense ministries, for example, but also for journalists and human rights activists, this is a considerable risk,” said Jan Penfrant of Brussels Digital-NGO EDRI. The EU Commission also shares this view.
WhatsApp: EU Commission calls for a signal
Vulnerabilities in WhatsApp occur more often – signal is considered particularly safe. Of which is theEU Commission convinced: “It is in the nature of this app to support secure and private communication without monetizing the data and / or private information of the users”, the internal note continues.
The messenger service signal are operated by data protection and cyber security experts who Data the user as safe as possible from private companies and large ones corporations want to protect, says the EU Commission.
WhatsApp: Not only the EU Commission recommends Signal
Whistleblower Edward Snowden also recommends Signal as a WhatsApp alternative. He became known for co-founding the WikiLeaks disclosure website. Since the publication of explosive government documents, it has been persecuted by the American security authorities. He also asked for asylum in Germany.
The IT department of the EU Parliament however continues to rely on the messenger service WhatsApp.
WhatsApp has other security holes than those warned by the EU Commission *. For example, your data is not secure even after the app is deleted.
Another security debacle at WhatsApp is reading messages. The EU Commission had not warned your employees about this either. A GIF makes this possible.
Video: Edward Snowden recommends this WhatsApp alternative
By Alicia Kreth and Lucas Maier
* hna.de is part of the Ippen-Digital editors network.
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