Victoria Traxler reports that the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department announced it has stopped using secure communication app Signal — not because it’s insecure, but because it’s so secure that some members of the public became concerned that itus use allows the agency to operate with too much secrecy and to sidestep public records law.
The decision to abandon use of the app came after a Searchlight New Mexico report prompted heavy scrutiny of CYFD’s use of it, including scheduled and manual deletions of some encrypted messages.
Blalock maintains the department was not deleting any records it was required to keep under the Inspection of Public Records Act, but he said he does not want workers to use any technology that weakens the public’s trust of the child welfare agency, which operates the state’s foster care system, juvenile justice facilities, and behavioral health services for children and youth.
Read more on Santa Fe New Mexican.