World News | Ireland: Government employees told to remove TikTok from work devices

dublin [Ireland]April 23 (ANI): Employees of government departments and agencies have been told to remove TikTok from their work-related devices following a comprehensive risk analysis by the National Cyber ​​Security Center (NCSC), The Irish Times reports.

The NCSC said that its assessment “draws heavily on” the experience of the European Commission, EU, UK and other organisations, in addition to conforming to procedures in other countries.

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Many countries, notably the UK and the Netherlands, have banned the use of social networking apps on government computers due to data protection and privacy concerns related to companies’ ties to the Chinese government.

According to the Irish Times, use of the app is no longer permitted under the guidelines outlined in the Irish State Employees Acceptable Use Policy.

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A message was sent to higher authorities and staff on Friday outlining the instructions obtained by The Irish Times. They were instructed to remove the Chinese social media app from any devices already running it and to stop installing the program altogether.

A spokesman for the Department of Communications, which oversees the NCSC, said the restrictions apply to all departments, agencies and other government entities within its purview, except “except in exceptional cases where there is a business need.” According to The Irish Times.

“This advice is based on a detailed risk assessment carried out by the NCSC and extensive engagement with relevant stakeholders, including the Data Protection Commission (DPC), the European Commission and other member states,” the spokesperson added.

The Irish Times reports that the department sees it as an addition to current security measures based on the 2021 Cybersecurity Baseline Standards framework, aimed at improving the security and resilience of public sector ICT systems.

Analysts were not surprised by the decision, as similar bans have already been imposed by the European Commission and the United States, both of which have expressed privacy concerns.

said Brian Honan, CEO of BH Consulting, which specializes in cybersecurity and data protection. “Their main concern is that TikTok could be compelled by the Chinese government to hand over data on its user base, which, if some of them are government employees, could allow the Chinese government to spy on or spy on those people,” added, “Ireland the government has [gone] the same way. “

E-government minister of state Ossian Smyth said last month that the NCSC would issue new guidance to the government on policy on devices allocated to public servants.

“The guidance doesn’t name specific companies; it describes how to measure the types of risks for different types of apps and what precautions should be taken in which situations. It doesn’t name any apps or companies specifically,” he said.

Contacts, photos, location information, and user interactions with other apps are all types of information that can be accessed through social media apps.

Honan noted that the same functionality can be found in other social networking apps located in different countries.

Regarding state agency workers and other potentially vulnerable users, “If you’re going to ban TikTok, then we should be banning other social media apps too.”

Friday’s actions signaled deepening unease about China and related security concerns. The European Commission issued a directive to its employees in February 2017 ordering them to immediately uninstall any commission-related apps from all work-related and personal devices.

Beginning in mid-March, apps such as Skype for Business and the committee’s internal email are scheduled to be removed from devices that continue to use TikTok, which is controlled by Beijing-based ByteDance.

Responding to the committee’s ruling, TikTok said it was “disappointed with this decision, which we believe is misguided and based on a fundamental misunderstanding,” according to the Irish Times.

The company’s pledge not to provide the Chinese government with access to user data in an era of escalating geopolitical tensions has done little to allay concerns. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)