Ukraine bans Telegram on military, govt devices over security risks

Ukraine's National Coordination Centre for Cybersecurity (NCCC) has restricted the use of the Telegram messaging app within government agencies, military units, and critical infrastructure, citing national security concerns.

The move was announced during a September 19 meeting focused on Telegram's security risks, particularly those tied to the ongoing war with Russia.

Oleksandr Lytvynenko, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, led the meeting and emphasized the importance of countering cyber threats to strengthen national security. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, also warned that Russian intelligence services could access Telegram users' data and messages, including deleted ones.

Budanov stressed that the widespread use of this instant messaging platform is not merely a matter of privacy risks impacting users but also a national security threat.

"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 stressed," he said.

Ukrainian officials representing the country's Security Service and the General Staff of the Armed Forces also warned that Russia "actively" uses Telegram for cyberattacks, phishing, malware distribution, and coordinating missile strikes.

To counter these threats, the NCCC has banned the app on official devices used by government, military, security, defense sector employees, and critical infrastructure personnel, except those whose duties specifically require it.

​Despite the ban, Telegram will remain widely used for communication and news dissemination in Ukraine, including updates on Russian airstrikes, given that the ban doesn't apply to ordinary users.

Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will also likely continue using the app in their public communications because of its broad reach among Ukrainians.

Pavel Durov, Telegram's Russian-born founder and CEO, left his country a decade ago after refusing to comply with the Kremlin's demands to censor opposition groups on VKontakte, a social network he also founded and sold before going into exile.

Recently, he was arrested in France in connection with a probe into the use of Telegram for fraud, drug trafficking, and distributing illegal contact. He was released days later on bail but was instructed not to leave the country because he was still under formal investigation by French authorities.