The US government has banned WhatsApp from devices used by U.S. House staff, and the app poses a potential security risk, Reuters reported citing a note sent to house staff.
“The Cybersecurity office viewed WhatsApp as a high risk for users due to its way of protecting user data, lack of data encryption at rest, and lack of transparency in how it protects the potential security risks associated with its use,” Reuters reported.
Instead, the memo recommends that staff use apps such as Signal, iMessage, FaceTime, and Microsoft Teams.
In January, Meta said it detected and confused a hacking campaign targeting around 90 WhatsApp users, including journalists. The Hack was linked to Paragon Solutions, an Israeli spyware manufacturer that was acquired last December by the American private equity giant AE industry partner.
And the governments of Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Israel and Singapore are probably Paragon's customers, according to a May investigation report.
Meta did not immediately return a request for comment.