The U.S. government has banned the use of WhatsApp on devices used by staff members of the House of Representatives, citing significant security concerns. According to a memo sent to House personnel by the Office of Cybersecurity, the instant messaging application has been classified as a high-risk platform due to opaque data protection practices, lack of stored data encryption, and several potential operational vulnerabilities.
Instead, the memo recommends that staff members utilize alternative communication tools including Signal, iMessage, FaceTime, and Microsoft Teams, platforms that have been assessed as more secure.
This decision comes amid heightened scrutiny of WhatsApp’s security record. In January, Meta—the parent company behind WhatsApp—disclosed that it had discovered and disrupted a cyberespionage campaign targeting around 90 individuals, including journalists, through WhatsApp. The hacking operation was attributed to Paragon Solutions, an Israeli spyware company that was recently acquired by U.S.-based private equity firm AE Industrial Partners.
Further complicating the matter, a researcher report earlier this year suggested that the governments of several nations, including Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Israel, and Singapore, might be clients of Paragon’s surveillance technologies.
Meta has not responded yet to requests for comments regarding the ban or its implications.
