The European Parliament has asked lawmakers, parliamentary assistants and staff to use Signal, an end-to-end-encrypted messaging app, as an instant messaging tool for work-related communications, according to an internal email seen by POLITICO.
"Due to a recent increase in threat on commercial telecommunications infrastructure and following certain incidents targeting large telecommunications companies mainly in the U.S., the risk of interception or manipulation of unsecure communications via public networks has increased," the email said.
The advice comes after it was revealed that a China-linked hacking group called Salt Typhoon conducted large-scale intrusions on U.S. and global telecommunication providers. New research by cyber intelligence firm Recorded Future on Thursday showed the group had breached telcos as recently as January, including in Italy and the U.K., despite U.S. sanctions.
Parliament's email reminded lawmakers they should use "Parliament's corporate solutions" Teams and Jabber when possible and only Signal if the two are unavailable.
“The use of Signal is proposed as a safe alternative in cases where no equivalent corporate tool is available,” the Parliament’s press service said in a statement, adding it couldn't “comment further on security or cybersecurity measures or tools."
In 2020, the European Commission gave a similar advice, telling its staff to switch to Signal for secure communications.
In 2023, several EU institutions also banned the use of Tiktok on work-related devices, requesting that its staff — numbering about 32,000 — remove the app from officials’ devices and their personal devices with work-related apps installed. The decision sparked a wave of similar measures across European capitals.
Signal's application is favored by cybersecurity experts and privacy activists because of its end-to-end encryption and open-source technology.
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