Ditch Signal in favor of domestic apps – Poland

The Polish government has issued an official recommendation to refrain from the messaging platform Signal and use domestic apps instead.

The Government Plenipotentiary for Cybersecurity issued a recommendation citing security risks related to the use of Signal.

“National-level Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) have identified phishing campaigns conducted by APT groups linked to hostile state agencies,” notes the government’s page.

It says that these attacks target government employees and public figures.

Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups are highly sophisticated cybercriminal or state-sponsored hacking groups that conduct long-term cyberattacks to steal sensitive data or cause disruption.

The government notes that these groups run phishing campaigns using social engineering, for example, by sending messages to victims pretending to be Signal employees.

This way, they convince the users to click on malicious links or QR codes.

Once the attacker links their device to the victim’s device, they gain access to their private or group messages and chat history.

“The goal is to take control of communications, posing a direct threat to national security and the confidentiality of information,” states the Polish authority.

For this reason, the Ministry of Digital Affairs issued a recommendation, signed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski, to use government-managed communication platforms rather than commercial messaging apps, reports CyberInsider.

The mSzyf app, which allows users to message and call, was created by the Polish government for public officials. It includes end-to-end encryption to “secure government communications.”

SKR-Z is “a classified communications system,” as noted by the Polish government.

What makes these platforms trustworthy is that both of them were developed and governed in Poland.

This is only one example of when more European countries are trying to gain “digital sovereignty.”

What is European digital sovereignty?

Some European countries have already begun shifting to European-made apps, hoping to replace US-based social media platforms.

Websites such as European Alternatives provide users with an extensive list of online services and apps.

For example, Google search can be replaced by French Qwant or German Ecosia. The European equivalent for Gmail is the Dutch provider Soverin, or Proton Mail from Switzerland.

Even an app like Slack has its own alternatives, such as Stackfield or Nextcloud Talk from Germany, Infomaniak kChat from Switzerland, or Fleep from Estonia.

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Europe has also been considering a “sovereign cloud” to provide it with digital independence.

However, taking control from American tech giants such as Amazon or Google is only one part of the puzzle.

Even if it’s sovereign, the cloud still needs protection from cyberattacks, inside threats, and system failures.

The European Union isn’t the only one considering ways to break away from American tech.

Canada and Germany announced the Digital Alliance in December 2025. The partnership was based on collaboration on digital sovereignty, digital infrastructure, and AI.

The collaboration was part of a broader agreement between Canada and the EU to break away from US-based technology.

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