Bundeswehr will switch completely to Matrix messenger | Hacker News Reader

Bundeswehr will switch completely to Matrix messenger

golem.de

37 points_b4ut5 comments

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version):

The German Armed Forces want to rely completely on the free software matrix as a communication system for chat messages in the future. This was announced by the Bundeswehr IT service provider BWI. The announcement also states that "in future the chat application will also be used for the transmission of information of the protection class 'classified information - for official use only' (VS-NfD)".

This is surprising in that the use of free software for classified information and its approval by the BSI can sometimes be difficult, as the case of OpenGPG from last year shows. The first tests for the use of Matrix in the German Armed Forces have been running since December last year.

Due to the restrictions and protective measures in the wake of the corona pandemic, the Bundeswehr had also expanded the operation of the system to 30,000 smartphones as early as April. This is intended to enable a "simple yet secure means of communication".

Starting this autumn, the Bundeswehr also wants to make it possible for private smartphones to be used for communication via matrix, but not for classified information. To enable private use and communication via chat even during the corona pandemic, the Bundeswehr is currently relying on the proprietary messenger Stashcat, which is available for up to 50,000 potential users. Disagreement in Germany

Stashcat is also used by other authorities. However, the announcement clearly states: "In the course of further expansion, Matrix will replace Stashcat as the German Armed Forces' unified instant messaging platform". Stashcat will therefore only serve as an interim solution.

Unlike in centrally governed France, where the matrix system is to be used for all authorities, there is currently still a great deal of disagreement among German authorities about which messenger systems are to be used in the future. Besides the mentioned Stashcat and Matrix, there are currently also tests with the open XMPP standard or Wire. But at least the German Armed Forces seem to have already definitely decided in favor of Matrix.

Well, this sounds awesome. Matrix seems to be a no-brainer after all.

Let's hope that the others won't switch to Wire

I’m assuming they’ll develop their own clients rather than using something like Riot.

This isn’t that unheard of IRC and XMMP and other open protocols have been used in the past by governments within their own private networks.

As far as I know the French government used a riot fork for their users but the changes are getting upstreamed. I think its not unrealistic that the Bundeswehr will go a similar way

This isn’t that surprising, the heavy lifting is already done for you adding things that maybe required for government use such as specific encryption scheme or central logging of messages can often be more easily added to the source or via middleware than developing a whole new protocol on your own.

The NSA used XMMP too https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.vice.com/amp/en_us/articl...

I know of a few other non-US government agencies that did that too.

Some countries even run their own MVNO’s for government uses no need to reinvent the wheel.

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