'88% Confident 90% Misled': Government & critical infrastructure leaders fundamentally misunderstand the security of the apps they use

Date:
Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:47:13 +0000

Description:
Many decision-makers don't know what "encryption" means or what it protects from.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Pro Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter BlackBerry survey finds 98% of government and infrastructure security leaders rely on foreignhosted consumer messaging apps 83% use WhatsApp for sensitive discussions, despite critical gaps in encryption literacy Report warns encryption doesnt protect metadata, impersonation, or compromised devices; highlights urgent need for sovereign, trusted communications infrastructure Government and infrastructure workers fundamentally misunderstand the security of the communications apps they use, placing their organizations, the data, and the information flowing through,
at great risk. This is according to The State of Secure Communications 2026,
a survey conducted by BlackBerry Secure Communications.

Surveying 700 security decision-makers across government and critical infrastructure in the US, UK, Canada, and Singapore, the researchers found that virtually everyone (98%) relies on foreign-hosted platforms that were
not built for confidential communications or high-security environments. In fact, more than eight in ten (83%) are using WhatsApp for sensitive discussions inside their organizations. Article continues below You may like Most Brits worry about online privacy, but they trust the wrong apps iPhone owners urged to change this key privacy setting after FBI recovers suspects deleted Signal messages FBI urges users not to download Chinese mobile apps over privacy risks Misconceptions about encryption To make matters worse, almost all (88%) security leaders are confident their current messaging setup is secure. This confidence, as BlackBerry discovered, is based on a fundamental misread of what these platforms actually protect.

The report reveals critical gaps in encryption literacy among the very
leaders responsible for safeguarding communications, it said.

With that in mind, the report says that more than half (52%) believe encryption protects metadata such as location data, IP addresses, and communication patterns. Just below half (47%) believe encryption prevents impersonation, deepfake, or spoofing attacks, and 41% assume communications remain secure even after a device has been compromised.

Consumer messaging apps were never designed to handle sensitive communications, protect confidentiality, or meet the demands of high-security environments, explained Christine Gadsby, Chief Security Advisor, BlackBerry Secure Communications. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners
or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms &
Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

They rely on phone numbers, not verified identities - and encryption protects the channel, not who is on it. That gap is already being exploited, as recent intelligence warnings show, and governments and critical infrastructure organizations are responding by moving toward communications infrastructure they own and trust.

Ownership and control of the infrastructure behind sensitive communications
is emerging as a critical blind spot, Blackberry said, stressing that it exposes gaps in data sovereignty. Still, more than half (55%) of the respondents said they prioritize sovereign control. The best antivirus for
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/88-percent-confident-90-percent-misled- government-and-critical-infrastructure-leaders-fundamentally-misunderstand-the -security-of-the-apps-they-use


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