Pakistan developing its own WhatsApp-like app to counter data breach

• Upcoming messaging platform would work as an official communication channel between all federal ministries to share official documents.
• The development comes after reports emerged in October that apps loaded with malware are targeting Pakistan's military and govt.

In order to safeguard itself from regular breaches of data in the age of hacking, Government of Pakistan is developing its own version of WhatsApp-like application for its government officials.

“We have been working to improve our cyber security and develop a messaging application like WhatsApp for government officials,” said Dr Arslan Khalid, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s focal person on digital media, quoted Arab News. “This local application will help us protect sensitive government data and other classified information from hostile spying agencies and hackers,” he added.

The development comes after reports emerged in October that apps loaded with malware are targeting Pakistan's military and government.

“The Pakistani military, other government agencies and their officials were also the subject of a concurrent espionage campaign employing both mobile and desktop components BlackBerry researchers have dubbed OPERATION DUALPAK2 which utilizes newly identified Windows malware family BlackBerry researchers have dubbed PWNWIN2. BlackBerry researchers determined this effort to be the work of another state-sponsored APT group known as CONFUCIUS," Canadian tech company BlackBerry said in a report.

Meanwhile, the upcoming messaging platform would work as an official communication channel between all federal ministries to share official documents.

“This network will have the ministry of defense, interior and others on it since we don’t want any sensitive information to be leaked,” said Ali Khan Jadoon, a ruling party lawmaker and chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology.

He added that the platform would be accessible only through unique ID.