Telegram has gained a reputation as the βsecureβ communications app in the post-Soviet states, but whenever you make choices about your digital security, itβs important to start by asking yourself, βWhat exactly am I securing? And who am I securing it from?β These questions should inform your decisions about whether you are using the right tool or platform for your digital security needs. Telegram is certainly not the most secure messaging app on the market right now. Its security model requires users to place a great deal of trust in Telegramβs ability to protect user data. For some users, this may be good enough for now. For others, it may be wiser to move to a different platform for certain kinds of high-risk communications. Telegram was co-founded by Pavel and Nikolai Durov, the brothers who had previously created VKontakte. VK is Russiaβs equivalent of Facebook, a social network used for public and private messaging, audio and video sharing as well as online gaming. In January, SimpleWeb reported that VK was Russiaβs fourth most-visited website, after Yandex, YouTube and Googleβs Russian-language homepage. In 2016, Forbesβ Michael Solomon described Pavel Durov (pictured, below) as the βMark Zuckerberg of Russia.β Telegram boasts 500 million users, who share information individually and in groups in relative security. But Telegram's use as a one-way broadcast channel β which followers can join but not reply to β means content from inauthentic accounts can easily reach large, captive and eager audiences. Perpetrators of such fraud use various marketing techniques to attract subscribers on their social media channels. Markets continued to grapple with the economic and corporate earnings implications relating to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. βWe have a ton of uncertainty right now,β said Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower Advisors. βWeβre dealing with a war, weβre dealing with inflation. We donβt know what it means to earnings.β
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