After phasing out Chinese phones, Australia's defense department has banned officials from using WeChat

Australian defense officials have been banned from using Chinese app WeChat, one of the worlds largest social media platforms.It follows the phasing out of Chinese mobile phone brands Huawei and ZTE by the department.Australia's defense is currently undertaking a security assessment on WeChat.Australias Department of Defence has banned employees from using one of the worlds largest social media apps, WeChat.The ban wasfirst reported in the Australian Financial Review, with the Australian Defence Department confirming it did allow limited use of Facebook, but not WeChat.The app, which has more than 1 billion users, is undergoing a security assessment. Until it is cleared, it is not allowed on any officials mobile device.The ban follows the Department of Defence confirming to Business Insider just a fortnight ago thatit no longer uses any Huawei phones and is retiring its ZTE mobiles.The Chinese brands had just been named in a US Senate Intelligence Committee report from the FBI as an espionage concern, given they were owned by companies that were beholden to foreign governments that dont share our values and could be used to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks.Huawei was founded by former Peoples Liberation Army engineer Ren Zhengfei. In 2012, it wasbanned from participating in Australias NBN projectover security concerns.However, the Australian Department of Defence said the mobile phones do not pose a security risk for Defence and were simply being replaced as they aged and failed.Its unclear whether the WeChat ban on Australian Defence officials is in place due to concerns about espionage activity, or whether the app is seemed deemed to be not secure enough.Both courses of action have taken place after an October report from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation that warnedAustralia was the target of espionage and foreign interference.WeChat has been dogged by security issues ever since its inception in 2011, and even Chinese authorities arent comfortable with the way its location-reporting and anonymity features can be abused.But there is little doubt that those in charge of Chinas internal securitypolice known asguobao are also able to access user accounts.That was most prominently highlighted by dissident artist Hu Jia, who claimsguobao were able to quote messages that he had sent via the service verbatim.WeChat and other Chinese apps were banned for use by the Indian Defence Ministry in December.The Australian Defence Department is yet to respond to Business Insider regarding why WeChat has been singled out for the ban, or when and under what circumstances it could be lifted.The departmenttold the AFRthat: Defence does not provide or support the use of unauthorized software, including the WeChat social media application, on Defence mobile devices.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Harvard professor Steven Pinker explains the disturbing truth behind Trump's 2 favorite phrases
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