ΕΥΠ to ministers and officials: “Beware of smartphones”

The Greek intelligence service has notified all ministers and officials making critical decisions that their communications through well-known online applications are not secure.

iEidiseis publication sources ΕΥΠ noted that the signal was sent not only to ministers and government officials, but also to all officials who make critical decisions and work with confidential information. The same sources add that the corresponding notification was sent in September last year and was of a more “extensive nature” in terms of the number of recipients.

According to iEidiseis, the briefing was issued by the National Information Security Directorate, which is part of the Cybersecurity Directorate of the National Intelligence Service. In fact, ΕΥΠ is preparing to begin training people in key positions who work with critical information in the near future. The training will cover information management with the highest possible level of security and protection against leaks.

It should be noted that, according to the Kathimerini report, ΕΥΠ sent a warning to ministers not in September last year, but last week, causing concern and fueling the scenario as to what actually forced the country’s intelligence agencies to take this initiative.

In the letter, ΕΥΠ warns government officials that their telephone conversations, as well as text messaging through established encrypted communications applications, should not be considered secure and unencrypted. It asks them not to use the apps for sensitive government matters, calling for them to be replaced with another, less popular app with roots in Switzerland.

But Greece is not the only European country to take such an initiative. On November 22, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne banned her government ministers from using well-known communication and messaging apps, citing gaps and vulnerabilities in their encryption security in a document. “These digital tools are not free from flaws and therefore cannot guarantee the security of the communications and information they exchange,” said the document, signed by Ms. Born and published last Wednesday by the French newspaper Le Point.

It is worth noting that back in 2019, ΕΥΠ officially acquired a set of programs and equipment for hacking popular instant messengers such as Viber & Whatsapp. ΕΥΠ was later accused of installing illegal spy-type software called Predator.

The scandal was hushed up, the evidence was destroyed, despite the stubborn, but still rather sluggish resistance of the opposition.

Source link