The Hong Kong government has updated its information security guidelines to restrict the use of Chinese messaging app WeChat, as well as Meta and Google products such as WhatsApp and Google Drive, on government-operated computers.
On Tuesday, Secretary of the Ministry of Innovation, Technology and Industry Soon Dong appeared on public broadcasting service Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) to discuss the issue (video).
Yesterday, the Hong Kong Digital Policy Bureau announced news of the rule changes.
“Various government departments have implemented multiple cybersecurity defenses, and the use of end-to-end encryption technology in services such as personal webmail, public cloud storage, and instant messaging makes such countermeasures difficult. “can be avoided and may prevent system administrators from effectively detecting potentially malicious links and attachments sent by related services.”
The policy office added that the government does not control these platforms, making it difficult to track the information sent. Their technical characteristics hinder efforts to detect and respond to malicious activity and increase the risk of information leakage.
According to local media, Son said the impetus for the restrictions came from similar actions taken by the United States and mainland China, as well as major data security incidents last year.
This restriction will take effect at the end of October. In some cases, exceptions to the prohibition may be made with the approval of the department chair.
Even under the “one country, two systems” framework, Hong Kong is technically part of China. The Middle Kingdom typically distinguishes between products made in Western countries and domestic products, such as Tencent’s WeChat. The company considers the latter to be more secure, in part because the data must be stored domestically.
The Chinese government prefers to foster its own technology while keeping developers under control. But now China, or at least its special administrative region, views Tencent’s services as a security threat.
Hong Kong’s legislature is expected to introduce a new cybersecurity law by the end of the year, which is expected to cover critical infrastructure computer systems. ®
