Ukrainian officials and military personnel have been banned from using Telegram on official devices

Officials and military personnel in Ukraine have been banned from using the Telegram messenger on official devices.

The decision was made by the National Cybersecurity Coordination Center, as reported by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

“A decision was made to prohibit the installation and use of Telegram on official devices of government employees, military personnel, workers in the security and defense sector, and employees of critical infrastructure operators,” the statement said.

However, there is an exception for “individuals for whom the use of this messenger is part of their official duties.”

It is worth noting that Telegram channels are currently used by all heads of regional military administrations, state institutions, the head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak, and President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to the decision, Telegram can still be used on personal devices. Given that the vast majority of officials and military personnel use their personal smartphones for work, they are not required to delete the messenger from those devices.

The ban on using Telegram applies only to official computers, as clarified by Andriy Kovalenko, head of the “Center for Countering Disinformation.”

This does not apply to personal smartphones.

“We are talking about OFFICIAL devices. Simply put, government officials, military personnel, and critical infrastructure employees should not use Telegram on official computers,” he wrote.

He noted that sending work documents through Telegram from work devices poses risks.

Earlier, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Kyrylo Budanov, called the Telegram messenger a threat to Ukraine’s national security.