Ukraine has restricted using the Telegram messaging app by authorities officers, navy personnel, and different protection and important infrastructure staff, citing nationwide safety considerations.
The ban was introduced by the Nationwide Coordination Centre for Cybersecurity (NCCC) in a submit shared on Fb.
“I’ve all the time advocated and advocate for freedom of speech, however the difficulty of Telegram will not be a query of freedom of speech, it’s a matter of nationwide safety,” Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s GUR navy intelligence company, mentioned.
Ukraine’s Nationwide Safety and Protection Council (NSDC) mentioned that Telegram is “actively utilized by the enemy” to launch cyber assaults, unfold phishing messages and malicious software program, monitor customers’ whereabouts, and collect intelligence to assist the Russian navy goal Ukraine’s amenities with drones and missiles.
To that finish, using Telegram has been proscribed on official gadgets of workers of state authorities, navy personnel, workers of the safety and protection sector, in addition to enterprises which can be operators of important infrastructure.
It is value noting that the ban doesn’t prolong to non-public telephones, or individuals who use the app as a part of their official duties.
In a press release shared with Reuters, Telegram mentioned it has not offered any private information to any nation, together with Russia, and that deleted messages are completely deleted with no manner of recovering them.
The event comes weeks after Telegram’s CEO was arrested in France after which launched on bail in reference to an investigation into using the favored messaging app for little one pornography, drug trafficking, and fraud.
