UN bans employees from using WhatsApp, citing safety as a problem

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[New York = Kaori Yoshida] It has become clear that the United Nations has effectively banned the use of the conversation app "WhatsApp" for work by its employees. It was recommended in June 2019 due to security and privacy protection issues. A deputy spokesman for the secretary-general made the announcement on Thursday.

Whatsapp has the ability to track the whereabouts of users and their contacts. There is a high risk that inside information, such as when, where and with whom UN officials are meeting, will be leaked.

Regarding WhatsApp, the special rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council said in a statement on the 22nd that the mobile phone of Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos was hacked through WhatsApp. He called for a speedy investigation by the relevant authorities, claiming that he had suffered damage. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed may have been involved.

According to a United Nations official, in addition to WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, the use of the calling app Viber, which Rakuten acquired in 2014, has been banned. On the other hand, the U.S. dialogue app Signal has been recognized as having a high level of privacy protection, and calls on users to use the service when there is no other option.

At the United Nations, staff and senior officials have been targeted for hacking, such as the expert panel of the North Korea Sanctions Committee being attacked in 2017.

In June 2018, German auto parts giant Continental banned employees from using WhatsApp. The reason given is that it is not possible to restrict access to information in the mobile phone by the application.

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