ANP / eyevine
News from the NOS•
British opposition parties want an independent investigation into former Prime Minister Truss’s alleged private phone hack. Sunday post reports that suspected Russian hackers were able to read his cell phone.
The hack was discovered last summer, according to the newspaper, when Truss was still secretary of state in the Johnson administration and was bidding for the Conservative leadership. The news was not made public at the time by order of Prime Minister Johnson and his senior official. “Obviously, it’s a bad turn for the intelligence services if the Secretary of State’s phone can be canceled so easily,” a source said.
Sources tell the newspaper that the hackers got their hands on all the messages from the previous twelve months. This also included top secret talks with other key foreign ministers about the war in Ukraine and, in particular, the supply of weapons.
IT security
A British government spokesman declined to comment on the “security measures surrounding individuals” and generally stated that the British had a robust system in place to protect the government from cyber attacks.
But the opposition parties Labor and Liberal Democrats are not satisfied with this. “All the alarm bells are sounding regarding our national security,” said a Labor politician. He also wants to find out how a minister may have used a private telephone for business calls.
He also finds it extraordinary that the news is out now. “If it turns out that this information was withheld so as not to damage Truss’s chances, then it is unforgivable,” said a member of the lower house of the Liberal Democrats.
Liz Truss resigned last week after serving only 45 days. She posed under fire since his arrival because of her, in many eyes, irresponsible financial plans. It happened last Tuesday Rishi Sunak.
