App ban the right move

The Parliamentary ban on four Chinese-developed apps is the right move and your organisation should consider following suit, says General Manager of Aura Information Security Patrick Sharp.

In late February, MPs were told to delete four apps from any device connected to the parliamentary network: the AI app DeepSeek; social media platforms WeChat and RedNote; and video editing app CapCut.

A spokesman told RNZ the apps pose unacceptable security risks. 

Sharp says the four apps could provide bad actors with access to personal data, or enable state-sponsored espionage.

“Applications like WeChat, DeepSeek and Red Note provide an unprecedented ability to capture rich, real-time data from devices and people,” Sharp says.

“Mobile phones are present in so much of our lives and are privy to huge amounts of our data. They could be a treasure trove for a hostile party looking for confidential information or leverage.”

Concerns about cybersecurity risks from China – New Zealand’s largest trading partner – are not new. Several countries, including our close neighbour Australia, have moved to ban DeepSeek from government devices and systems this year. In the US, Chinese video sharing app TikTok is facing a ban if it does not sell to American owners.   

“Chinese hardware manufacturers have been accused of building backdoors in networking devices for decades. Some might recall a few years ago Huawei was barred from providing 5G infrastructure in New Zealand due to security concerns.”

Given the potential for state sponsored espionage, Sharp says it is “excellent” that Parliament has banned these apps and suggests boards review their cybersecurity policies in light of the emerging risks. 

“Businesses operating critical infrastructure, government agencies and organisations looking to secure confidential information should be considering the same,” he says.