Nigeria's independent online newspaper
The Canadian government has banned WeChat, a popular Chinese messaging app, and softwares by Kaspersky, a Russian cybersecurity firm, from government smartphones and other mobile devices.
Anand said the nation’s chief information officer determined the apps — Tencent-owned WeChat and applications made by Moscow-based Kaspersky — to “present an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security”.The treasury board said there is no evidence that government information has been compromised, but “the collection methods of the applications provide considerable access to a device’s contents, and risks of using them were clear”.
Reacting to the move, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China’s foreign ministry, said the Canadian government had issued a ban on Chinese enterprises without any real evidence and with the guise of maintaining data security.Wenbin added that the accusation was a “typical generalisation of the concept of national security”.
“We hope that the Canadian side will discard ideological prejudices, abide by the principles of market economy and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises,” Wenbin said.The Russian firm said the decision was made without warning or an opportunity for the firm to address the government’s concerns.