MPs have been warned that their mobile phones are a “potential goldmine for hostile states” seeking to harvest sensitive information. Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has issued them with advice from the Government’s National Cyber Security Centre to minimise their security risks.
“If hackers have switched on the microphone on one phone, everyone in the room might be overheard,” he wrote to MPs. His letter, first reported by the HuffPost UK website, comes after reports emerged of Liz Truss’s personal phone being hacked by agents suspected of working for the Kremlin while she was foreign secretary.
Sir Lindsay said: “As recent events have highlighted, hostile states continue to target Parliamentarians to gain insight into, or exert influence over, our democratic processes for their economic, military or political advantage. Our phones contain so much information: our messages, emails, contacts, photos and social media posts – including private, sensitive, personal, historic and sometimes even deleted data.
“They go almost everywhere with us, and have cameras and sensitive microphones built in, making them a potential goldmine for hostile states (as well as criminals and fraudsters) who wish to obtain sensitive information about Parliament and parliamentarians.”
Lord Dannatt, former head of the British Army, recently told the Radio Times: “Our leaders must be sufficiently disciplined to only communicate through authorised means which themselves are encrypted and are secure. If these people aspire to be in senior positions, positions of leadership, they’ve got to be disciplined.”
For stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
Find recommendations for eating out, attractions and events near you here on our sister website 2Chill
Find recommendations for dog owners and more doggy stories on our sister site Teamdogs
