Currently, around 60 authorities with around 10,000 users are using Messenger Wire in a pilot test. In doing so, the federal government wants to promote the use of modern means of communication in the federal administration environment. The possible uses are diverse - be it for flexible accessibility in the home office, for cross-agency exchange in the event of security incidents or for communication with business, citizens or European partner authorities. Importantly, however, security and data protection must be guaranteed.

The Ministry of Defense and the Bundeswehr, which rely on their own Bwmessenger, are not involved in the test.

What is Wire?

Wire is not a new messenger. It was developed over 10 years ago by former Skype, Apple and Nokia employees, among others. HERE via Wire Swiss GmbH . The company headquarters was originally in Switzerland, but is now in Berlin. The messenger is also being developed there. There was criticism when a US holding company joined Wire in 2019. Today, in addition to the headquarters in Berlin, there are two other locations: Zug in Switzerland and San Francisco.

In the government environment, in addition to data protection aspects, increased security requirements play a role, for example when it comes to sending sensitive information or information classified as VS-NfD within the meaning of the VSA classified information instruction, i.e. classified information “for official use only”. ( HERE ) The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) already includes Wire in a list of approved IT security products that are suitable for use in authorities. ( HERE ) For some time now, the BSI has been evaluating messaging solutions, including in particular the Messenger Wire.

What can Wire do?

Wire has the typical functionalities that users are familiar with from other messengers. This means users can exchange text messages, pictures, music and videos and make phone calls to each other via VoIP - even in groups. Wire Swiss GmbH, which is responsible for the messenger, is trying to position its service in the market by presenting the message content with as little explanation as possible and providing more data protection than other messengers. According to the manufacturer, Wire (client and server) is now completely open source. This ensures maximum transparency of programming.

It is also possible to operate your own server. Wire is available as a mobile and desktop application or can be used via a web browser. An important difference to other messenger services: no telephone number is required to register for use; the user can also register with an email address. ( HERE )

More wire features

Wire has a few other interesting features to offer:

  • Consistent end-to-end encryption is pre-activated ( HERE )
  • The Proteus protocol is used, which is also used by Signal Messenger and is considered state-of-the-art ( HERE )
  • Wire is ad-free
  • the messenger is compliant with the GDPR
  • Servers used should be located in the EU
  • the last security audit was carried out in 2018 ( HERE )

Alternatives?

The Ministry of Defense and the Bundeswehr are not taking part in the current test involving 60 authorities. They are currently developing and testing their own matrix-based messenger, the Bwmessenger. With the Corona pandemic at the latest, it became clear how important an internal messenger is for internal communication. The Bundeswehr had already created a proof of concept or a feasibility study of the Bwmessenger in 2019. During the pandemic, this was then quickly implemented into regular operations and continued to be expanded. The initial 5,000 users initially became 50,000 and later 80,000. ( HERE )

The great hope is to implement this own product in other authorities as well. The Ministry of Defense would welcome the use of its Bwmessenger as a cross-agency messenger, which, according to the BMI's IT situation report on cybersecurity, is also aiming for VS-NfD approval:

“There are discussions with other departments with the aim of using Bwmessenger as a standard platform outside the Federal Ministry of Defense,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense told Tagesspiegel. He refers to a decision between the Interior and Defense Ministries “that Bwmessenger should also be made available to other departments, states and municipalities as a blueprint for a reusable and adaptable secure messaging solution.”

Golem

This might also be of interest: Although they surf a lot themselves, parents see themselves as role models when it comes to the Internet

. Sources: BMI , kuketz-blog , Golem , Chip , Kommunal-Spiegel


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