Ukraine restricts use of Telegram on state-issued devices, amid Russian surveillance concerns

In a significant step to safeguard its national security, Ukraine has banned government and military officials from using the Telegram messaging app on state-issued devices.

This decision comes amid growing concerns about Russian surveillance.

The National Coordination Centre for Cybersecurity (NCCC), a key body for coordination and control in the field of cybersecurity, has decided to restrict the use of Telegram in government agencies, military formations, and critical infrastructure facilities, according to the website of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

During the meeting held by the NCCC on Thursday, the Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, provided evidence that Russian special services have access to personal correspondence of Telegram users, even deleted messages, as well as their personal data.

“I have always stood for freedom of speech, but the issue of Telegram is not a matter of freedom of speech, it is a matter of national security,” he said.

During the meeting, representatives from Ukraine’s Security Service and General Staff of the Armed Forces highlighted that Telegram is being used by enemy forces for activities including cyberattacks, phishing, malware dissemination, user geolocation tracking, and even adjusting missile strikes.

In order to minimise these threats, the decision was taken to ban the installation and use of Telegram on the official devices of government officials, military personnel, employees of the security and defence sector, as well as enterprises operating critical infrastructure. However, the ban will not impact the officials who use Telegram as part of their duties.

Meanwhile, a number of decisions were taken to develop the cybersecurity sector in the country — launch of a national initiative to promote the role of women in cybersecurity and gender equality, and introduction of an automated platform for monitoring the implementation of the Cybersecurity Strategy of Ukraine (CyberTracker), which will improve strategic planning in this area. Some issues aimed at strengthening national cyber resilience were also discussed in a closed session.

Based in Dubai, UAE, Telegram was founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov.