Canada bans China’s WeChat, Russia’s Kaspersky

MANILA, Philippines — Canada on Monday prohibited Chinese messaging application WeChat and Russian antivirus program Kaspersky on government-issued mobile devices due to privacy and security risks.

“We are taking a risk-based approach to cyber security by removing access to these applications on government mobile devices,” said Treasury Board of Canada president Anita Anand.

“(WeChat and Kaspersky) present an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security,” said Canada’s Chief Information Officer Catherine Luelo.

The Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said it has no plans to crack down on foreign tech companies and their platforms amid China’s aggressions in the West Philippine Sea.

“We always try to remain tech neutral as long as it addresses our particular needs for our mandate,” DICT Assistant Secretary for legal affairs Renato Paraiso told The STAR.

“However, we are aware of various geopolitical issues regarding the ICT industry that is why, on our part, we try to validate each and every report and adopt measures to ensure the country’s ‘infostructure’ and ICT systems integrity while continuously improving our cybersecurity posture and capabilities,” Paraiso added.

Kaspersky, in a statement, said it is disappointed with Canada’s decision and claimed it was “made on political grounds.”

“Kaspersky maintains that this prohibition is based on unsubstantiated allegations and without any public evidence of wrongdoing by the company. As there has been no evidence or due process to otherwise justify these actions, they are highly unsupported and a response to the geopolitical climate rather than a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of Kaspersky’s products and services,” the firm added.