Public officers stipulated to use local messaging apps

Click to read the article in Turkish

The Presidency's Digital Transformation Office has prepared an "Information and Communications Security Guide" based on the Presidential decree published on the Official Gazette on July 6, 2019.

The guide "aims to promote the use of local and national products, thereby eliminating and reducing critical information and data security risks." In this context, the ones working in state institutions and organizations are asked to "use messaging apps controlled by the institution."

Accordingly, it has become an obligation for the public officers in Turkey to use local messaging apps, rather than the ones whose servers are outside the country, such as WhatsApp and Telegram.

While the officers can use these apps in their private lives, they cannot use them for institutional works and affairs.

Guide lists precautions for messaging security

The main objective of the guide is "reducing and eliminating the risks of information security and ensuring the security of critical information/data, especially when it will threaten national security or disturb public order if their confidentiality, integrity or accessibility is undermined." 

Within this context, the guide has set out to specify the minimum security precautions to take and how these precautions will be implemented.

The guide of the Presidency's office has also listed a series of precautions that should be taken to ensure the security of messaging.

These precautions have been grouped in the categories of choosing a messaging application, the security of transmission media, sharing of classified data, use of multiple devices, end-to-end encipherement, storage of encryption keys, access to administrative interface, encryption of data in the device, security of critical communications.

What are the alternatives to WhatsApp and Telegram?

Though WhatsApp and Telegram are, in a sense, global monopolies when it comes to instant messaging, there are also some alternatives. Considered locally, the alternatives are BİP, Dedi and LAFF:

Owned by Turkcell mobile phone operator, BİP app can be downloaded to both IOS and Android devices free of charge.

Another app is "Dedi" (meaning "S/he said" in Turkish), which is defined as a "secure communications app with end-to-end protection" and developed by the BTİDER Association. This app can also be downloaded to both IOS and Android devices without making any payment.

Another application to use for messaging is LAFF, which has been developed by Argela. It is also free of charge on IOS and Android app stores. While BİP and Dedi allow its users to video talk, the LAFF does not.

Wirofon, a communications and messaging platform developed by Türk Telekom company, can also be used to make video and voice calls free.

* You can access the full guide here (in Turkish)

(HA/SD)