Liputan6.com, Jakarta – Canada announced a ban on the use of Kaspersky cybersecurity products, as well as Tencent’s WeChat app, on mobile devices used by government employees.

Again, security and network concerns were the reasons why this policy was announced.

Citing CBC, this ban occurred because Canada was concerned that these two companies were secretly passing sensitive information to Russian and Chinese intelligence agencies.

“Effective October 30, 2023, the WeChat and Kaspersky suite of applications will be removed from government-issued mobile devices,” reads an announcement on the website. Canada.ca.

Quoted on Wednesday (01/11/2023), the Treasury Board of Canada also stated that users of this device will also be blocked from downloading applications in the future.

The country’s chief information officer also said the WeChat and Kaspersky suite of apps carried an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.

According to the government, on mobile devices, the data collection methods of the WeChat and Kaspersky apps provide considerable access to content on the device.

“The decision to remove and block the WeChat and Kaspersky applications was made to ensure the security of the Government of Canada’s network and data and is consistent with the approach of our international partners,” they said.

However, the Canadian government also admitted that it had no evidence that any information had been compromised. Meanwhile, the public is still allowed to use the app, when it comes to “personal choice”.

However, the Cyber ​​Security Centre, the Canadian Communications Security Agency, provides advice and guidance regarding personal use of social media and security considerations to take into account when using social media in organizations .