Forbidden sign on a background showing app icons coming from a mobile device

Risks related to the use of certain applications

The University of Ottawa strongly recommends that you remove some apps from your mobile devices, as they present major cyber-security risks.

Security concerns

Security concerns have been raised over some applications, as they present an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security due to their data collection methods and their extensive access to device contents, that leaves users vulnerable to cyber-attacks.  

Furthermore, certain applications are owned by companies located in countries where their respective governments have the authority to compel them to share their data. This data can potentially be exploited for disinformation campaigns or targeting individuals or groups.

Recently, the Government of Canada issued a ban against Chinese social media app WeChat and Russia's Kaspersky Lab antivirus from all government-issued phones, citing security concerns as their data collection methods provide a wide access to the mobile devices contents.

uOttawa’s recommendation 

We must protect information on uOttawa’s systems and networks. The University's current position is to have the uOttawa community think about the security of its data and the inherent risks from both a professional and personal perspective. We strongly recommend that professors and support staff remove these applications from their personal and University-issued devices.   

What you can do 

  • Be vigilant when presented with privacy consents while using social media platforms.  
  • Think ahead of possible uses by bad actors before you post information to a social media platform.  
  • Be cautious in sharing personal information such as biometric data that uniquely identifies you as an individual. Examples of these include geometry, voice recognition, iris scans, and fingerprints. Once on the Internet, they’re almost impossible to erase. The issue is that biometrics define you and is permanent information unlike other data which likely will change over time. This type of information is worth a lot on the market because it uniquely describes you. 

Additional resources