(Brazilian Intelligence Agency) informed what opened the testing phase of a new instant messaging app for internal use of the federal government, replacing platforms such as OEO.
During the Bolsonaro government, ABIN suspended the use of its own messaging application (named after Athena) and stopped the official system to distribute intelligence alerts and reports, justifying communication within the government.
The use of WhatsApp, however, caused a short circuit on January 8, 2023, when intelligence reports that pointed to the were or directly to authorities through the application.
At the time, the Ministry of Justice, then under the command of today’s Supreme Court Minister Flávio Dino, denied having received any. Former Minister of (Institutional Security Office) Gonçalves Dias said he only learned from reports later.
The information about the new application was given by ABIN Director-General Luiz Fernando Corrêa to the National Congress Intelligence Control Committee in early July. , but Corrêa’s presentation was made public by the commission.
Authorities along with development state that initially the application would be used only by members of Sisbin (Brazilian Intelligence System), a network that brings together different public agencies to exchange intelligence information. Today, however, the idea is to provide the app to the entire federal public administration.
The resumption of an exclusive application has also gained body in the face of government’s concern with digital sovereignty, as the system should use its own encryption. The previous model, Athena, also allowed, for example, the destruction of the database remotely if the phone was lost or stolen.
“ABIN has been developing the Digital Transformation Program (PDX), which seeks to modernize the safe communication available to Sisbin through an innovative, agile and integrated application with the digital government strategy. The tool already has an initial version and is in the testing phase,” the agency said in the document presented to parliamentarians.
In addition to the new app, ABIN said it was developing a platform for “cataloging, structuring and sharing of data and intelligence documents” among Sisbin members, “following the compartmentalization guidelines provided for in legislation.”
WhatsApp belongs to the American Big Tech Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram. The Telegram is.
Like the extinct Athena and other commercial applications, the state app should enable the sending of texts, audios, photos and videos, as well as the creation of groups and the realization of calls. The system is being developed in partnership with the Federal University of Ceará and Serpro, federal government technology company.
Sought by the report, Abin stated that the application is in the validation phase by the Ministry of Management and could not provide details at the moment.
In an interview with Agência Brasil in December last year, Corrêa stated that “one of the communication failures” on January 8, 2023 was “in the messenger service”.
The use of WhatsApp for the exchange of sensitive information was, cast by President Lula (PT) as an intervener in the Public Security of the Federal District and interim minister of GSI after the scammers.
“It is not appropriate for a country’s confidential intelligence reports to be passed on through a message application from a private company of a foreign nation. It is not xenophobism or conspiracy.
In April 2023, when the use of WhatsApp for the distribution of intelligence alerts surfaced, Abin saying send and receive data through appropriate channels.
“Information is sent and received through adequate channels, prior and jointly decided. For the decision of the channel, the sensitivity of the subject, the degree of confidentiality and the need for spread in a quick and timely manner,” the agency said.
“The same communication channels chosen in relation to acts of January 8, 2023 were efficiently used in critical events such as truckers’ movements in 2021, the acts of September 7, 2022, the 2022 elections and presidential possession on January 1, 2023.”