Ukraine Weighs Telegram Security Risks Amid War With Russia
www.nytimes.com
The messaging app’s popularity has soared during the war with Russia, leading Ukrainian officials to increasingly weigh Telegram’s upsides against its security risks.

About 70 percent of Ukraine’s population uses Telegram as their main source of news, but the government is worried that the app is being used as a method of disinformation and spying by Russia. They are trying to pivot to apps like Signal instead, but it is difficult to break the habit of such a majority of the country.

  • granolabar@kbin.melroy.org
    463·
    10 days ago

    Imagine entire country using coms software operated by the enemy.

    Are these people idiots or just don’t care for national security?

    • Bobr@lemmy.libertarianfellowship.org
      385·
      10 days ago

      Imagine entire country using coms software operated by the enemy.

      Do I get it right that you know that

      • Pavel Durov (the creator of Telegram) has left Russia after refusing to give government information on Ukrainians during 2014 protests (from his previous project - VK, also used by both people in Russia and Ukraine)
      • Russian government’s most extensive blocking campaign/attempt was targeted at Telegram
      • Telegram’s headquarters are in UAE

      and still somehow make a conclusion that “it is operated by the enemy” (assuming that by enemy you mean Russian government)? I’d like to learn more about this logic :)

      • poVoq@slrpnk.net
        214·
        10 days ago

        There are some credible rumors that Durov had financial issues during the pandemic and went back to Russia to strike some sort of deal with the regime there, which would also explain why since then there have been no further attempts to block Telegram in Russia.

        • Bobr@lemmy.libertarianfellowship.org
          122·
          10 days ago

          What gives those rumors credibility other than “Russia bad”?

          If you have links to some sources with some facts - I’d very much like to read them

            • Bobr@lemmy.libertarianfellowship.org
              7·
              10 days ago

              Thanks, that was an interesting read :)

              Of course it doesn’t prove anything (especially that Telegram sends any information about Ukrainians to Russian government!), but at least those allegations indeed have more credibility than the usual “Russia bad”. It also doesn’t say anything about Durov doing something because he had financial problems. And what it definitely doesn’t say is that “Telegram is operated by Russia”.

              • granolabar@kbin.melroy.org
                13·
                10 days ago

                Yeah next you are going to ask us to prove that signal shares meta data with nsa, other wise it doesn’t happen

                🤡

      • interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml
        31·
        10 days ago

        Of course they would do that. Nobody would use it if the server was in putin’s bedroom.

        Unless it’s auditted and open source then you should assume its spyware.

        • Bobr@lemmy.libertarianfellowship.org
          5·
          10 days ago

          Unless it’s auditted and open source then you should assume its spyware.

          I do. I use Matrix and recommend it to all my friends.

          “Telegram is spyware” was not the original thesis I replied to, it was about “operated by the enemy”.

          • interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml
            22·
            10 days ago

            All software not under my direct control and personnal audit is operated by the enemy until proven otherwise.

            windows, voidtool everything, irfanview, wiztree, Lemmy.ml gmail.com reddit.com youtube.com, my bank’s website. All operated by the technocapital enemy.

            I use nothing from russia but you better believe everything out of them is considered in the enemy camp.

      • granolabar@kbin.melroy.org
        711·
        10 days ago

        A girl can leave Russia but Russia never leaves the girl;)

        How naive are you?

        Even if everything you say can be assumed to be true, the risk from national security perspective is unacceptable during a time of war.

    • Greg@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      202·
      10 days ago

      Are you suggesting that the global reliance on Microsoft by every government could potentially pose an issue?

      • granolabar@kbin.melroy.org
        108·
        10 days ago

        Indeed but my point here is that Ukraine is at war with Russia…

        Ukraine is not at war with US. So risk is Microsoft being imbeciles… Russia literally wants Ukraine wiped out and yet the idiots unable to change an app on their phone because “network effects and habit”

        Just wow

        • Bobr@lemmy.libertarianfellowship.org
          109·
          10 days ago

          Russia literally wants Ukraine wiped out and yet the idiots unable to change an app on their phone because “network effects and habit”

          The thing with Zelensky’s propaganda is that externally (with people familiar with the situation only from CNN (or whever you get your information from…)) it works an order of magnitude better than internally… :)

          So “idiots” use Telegram because not only they see no threat in it (why would they?), but also because it helps to avoid the very real threat of “lawful mobilization actions” by the government.