In December 2018, cybersecurity research firm Area 1 Security said it had found thousands of diplomatic documents in the public domain from the EU’s COREU system, which is used by national governments and EU institutions to exchange information on foreign policy. In addition, in 2017, two computers of the EU delegation in Moscow were reportedly hacked to steal diplomatic information. Perhaps, such situations do not motivate authorities to use regular communication channels. But messengers can be an alternative.
In February 2020, the staff of the European Commission received a recommendation to use only the Signal messenger in their work and related correspondence. This is a part of EU efforts to strengthen cybersecurity following several incidents with diplomats and officials. Signal is similar to WhatsApp and iMessage, but is based on an innovative encryption protocol. Since it is open-source, anyone can see what’s hidden under the hood.
A New Trend for Using the On-Premise Messengers
More and more government agencies and leading companies have a great alternative to public messengers available in the market. They began to order individual applications developed specifically for them. There are all reasons to say that this is becoming the main trend now.
Last year, the German government also announced that employees of the Chancellor’s Office began using a messenger developed for them by Wire in a test mode. The company is headquartered in Berlin, and it advertises itself precisely because it is physically located in the EU and therefore adheres to the strict data protection regulations in force there.
At the same time, Wire is not the only software developer in Germany. For example, the IT firm Stashchat from Hanover has been developing applications for the police in the federal state of Lower Saxony for several years. According to some reports, employees of the German Ministry of Defense and the Bundeswehr also began using the messenger of this company during the coronavirus pandemic.
As for corporate communication, more and more large companies introduce on-premise messengers. In particular, LAN messengers are getting more attention. These are usually simple and reliable messengers for the local network, which don’t require an internet connection. In addition to sending instant messages and transferring files, they allow you to:
- create virtual rooms,
- make bulk mailings,
- save message history,
- group contacts by department or position.
Of course, these tools have simpler designs and features, but they cope with the main task – keep the conversations secure.
In Conclusion
Nowadays, more and more cyber threats and challenges appear in the communication sphere. Fortunately, governments and large private companies have learned the previous lessons and started to introduce individual solutions for their needs. While the communication standards are transforming, there is no better way than using LAN messengers or public apps with the best encryption means. By the way, do you feel safe when talking to colleagues via regular messenger? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.