Canada has banned the Russian antivirus program Kaspersky and the Chinese messaging application WeChat on government-issued mobile devices due to security risks, as per Reuters.
The move came after an assessment by Canada’s chief information officer that WeChat and applications made by Moscow-based Kaspersky “present an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.”
Kaspersky said it was surprised and disappointed with the decision which according to the company was made without an opportunity for the firm to address the government’s concerns.
“The decision to remove and block the WeChat and the Kaspersky applications was made to ensure that government of Canada networks and data remain secure and protected and are in line with the approach of our international partners,” the statement of The Treasury Board of Canada said.
The applications will be removed from government-issued mobile devices next week.
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