Privacy commissioner concerned over GN use of WhatsApp
Report cites privacy concerns over Education Department’s use of third-party app to communicate
Nunavut Education Department officials are using WhatsApp to communicate, according to a recent report released by Graham Steele, the territory’s information and privacy commissioner. This is concerning for several reasons pertaining to records management and privacy, Steele says in the report. (Photo by Christian Wiediger via Unsplash)
Nunavut’s information and privacy commissioner is calling on Education Department officials to stop using third-party messaging apps for departmental business.
In a report released Tuesday, Graham Steele said at least four senior management employees, including the deputy minister, were using WhatsApp regularly to communicate.
The report is a review of a complaint from a former department employee who had requested records pertaining to their employment. Steele’s review covered many aspects how the department disclosed those records and other aspects of records management in this case, including the use of WhatsApp.
“I can say with certainty that in this particular case, it was being used routinely for substantive discussion and decision making within the department,” Steele said in an interview.
WhatsApp is a third-party messaging app that does not go through GN servers or GN email accounts. Messages sent through third-party apps are not accessible should an employee leave or is unwilling to co-operate. These messages are not available to successors and are not archived or stored.
That said, the review notes, using third-party messaging apps is not forbidden under the GN’s policy governing acceptable use of information technology resources, or its mobile device policy.
“I’m not necessarily saying don’t, under any circumstances, use a messaging app. I’m just saying that there’s access and privacy concerns when messaging apps are used and we need to be thoughtful about what we use it for,” Steele said in an interview.
Matthew Illaszewicz, the department’s director of stakeholder engagement, said in an email that — despite Steele’s discovery that officials were using the app to make substantive decisions in this case — department officials don’t use WhatsApp to make decisions or host meetings.
“The Department of Education uses WhatsApp to stay connected with team members, share celebratory pictures of events, and keep informed of facility issues, such as doors not locking properly or frozen pipes in the building,” he said.
The GN does not provide technical support for WhatsApp users. Instead, the territorial government approves and supports use of the Microsoft Teams program, which has a chat function and is reasonably comparable to WhatApp, according to Steele’s report.
Steele said he may need to look more depth into how widespread the use of third-party messaging apps is across departments in the Government of Nunavut.
Why are people so compelled to use programs other than what the employer provides and using equipment the employer provides. While on the subject why do people get thier news from Facebook and similar applications which oftentimes, shall we say, drift from fact. There are plenty of reputable news broadcasters but many differ to BS sources. WHY.
What does the “employer provide”?
People use what works best and provides the least friction.
Will be interesting to find out what the education minster and primer says, after all this is a public government, to top it of sr. managerment and deputy minister should know
Department of Education Social Media policy 4.8
Under no circumstances should teachers use private accounts and e-mail addresses to
participate on or administer social media accounts. Private accounts may be subject to
information requests under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
when used for GN-related purposes.
Most senior managers and those staff allowed cellphones for work use WhatsApp to communicate. They should switch to Signal. More secure than WhatsApp
There are absolutely no legitimate reasons why any GN employee should be using any messaging app other than the GN issued Microsoft Teams. The GN pays a fortune to Microsoft for licenses for every employee. And Teams is hosted on the GN servers and retrievable if/when needed. So, ask yourself, why would senior management be using an app that is not licensed by the GN, is encrypted, and not subject to ATTIPP?
Still fair questions, however it is important to note that all records, regards of program, which are in the custody and control of a GN employee are subject to ATIPP.