Former White House officer considers the president’s tapped phone could compromise sensitive information
Countless experts in information security and digital forensics would have warned the situation of the American President. Local media report that American espionage agencies have evidence that China and Russia have been listening to President Trump’s personal calls to friends and collaborators through one of his iPhones, trying to influence the political life of the United States.
“This amazing revelation can influence the intelligence and security agenda of the US government”, says former White House information director Theresa Payton in a media statement.
According to digital forensics experts from the International Institute of Cyber Security, Donald Trump uses three iPhones, but only two of them are equipped with security features implemented by the National Security Agency (NSA). One of these devices is specially designed for Twitter use only, and is usable only through a WiFi network.
Is being said that his third iPhone is as insecure as any other iPhone. The former official has mentioned that despite repeated warnings that spies could hear their calls, Trump has refused to stop using the phone. “The president likes to keep his personal iPhone with him, as his personal contacts information is stored there”.
According to reports from the New York Times (NYT), “American espionage agencies are aware that China and Russia were spying on the president’s phone calls, while intercepting communications with foreign officials”.
“If true, this can lead to the largest and most significant security breach of communications in the White House”, says Payton, who served in the George W. Bush administration and is now the CEO of a security firm. “America’s antagonistic nations now have a direct line to the president’s confidential ideas and conversations”.
With the information obtained from Trump’s calls, foreign national states could learn to exploit the weaknesses of the American leader to the detriment of America’s interests.
Amidst the current trade tensions, thanks to this espionage campaign, China has learned “how Trump thinks, what arguments tend to influence him and who he is inclined to listen to”, reports NYT.
Direct line to the president’s ideas
According to reports of experts in digital forensics, telecommunications spy devices, known as Stingray, were being used to intercept cell phone signals near the White House, allegedly operated under the auspices of different foreign governments. According to NYT, the Secret Service has asked Trump to change his phones each 30 days to make way for new security software, which has annoyed the temperamental president.
During his campaign, Trump criticized Hillary Clinton for using an unsafe email server while being secretary of state. Trump’s administration also ordered a government-wide ban on all technologies developed by ZTE and Huawei Chinese manufacturers as a preventive cybersecurity measure.
In his period, Barack Obama used a Blackberry device that looked less attractive but was in fact more protected, although he occasionally committed the carelessness of using his collaborators’ phones to make personal calls. During his second term, Obama switched to an iPhone with limited functions, regulating the use of the device’s camera and microphone.
