Saudi Arabia is in the trial of a unified instant messaging platform as an alternative to WhatsApp
The director of the National Center for Information Security at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Dr. Basel Alomair stated that most of the commercial applications that are being used have an external server that stores the data and these are mostly controlled by foreign agencies that have certain back doors that can create suspicion on its confidentiality.
A backdoor refers to any means by which authorized and unauthorized users may get around normal security measures and gain high-level user access in a network on a computer system or a software application.
Basel Alomair Founder Director, KACST.
“Most commercial applications may be stored in external servers and are controlled by foreign agencies and may contain back doors that are difficult to discover. The advantage of the application, which is designed by 100 percent national talents, is that it guarantees it is free from any back doors and guarantees its confidentiality.”
The messaging platform is currently under development by the researchers of Saudi. Officials assure that the platform will be free from any kind of security perils and is completely secured with encryption algorithms.
To attain a great degree of security and privacy, algorithms and systems which are developed within the Kingdom are used for the platform. Further, the platform targets to get rid of the risk of storing confidential information and files on external servers.
The new app is expected to be launched within a year.
The messaging platform is currently aimed at government agencies, institutions and companies and not average users. The platform will function on various types of systems and on devices with different operating systems.
