In the wake of the 2013 revelations of the US National Security Agency’s (NSA)
surveillance program, and amid increasing worries that private firms are using our phones
to eavesdrop on us, it’s understandable that many people are now paranoid that their private communications can be intercepted. The president of the United States, however, is apparently not among them.
The New York Times reported yesterday (Oct. 24) that Donald Trump wouldn’t restrict his phone calls to more secure lines available to him, such as White House landlines, preferring to conduct many communications—including calls to Fox News—over one of three iPhones. None of the three cellphones are completely secure, though two of them have been altered by the NSA to limit vulnerabilities, while the third, personal phone is the most insecure. As a result, Chinese and Russian intelligence have allegedly been able to listen in, the paper reported, citing unnamed current and former officials. The paper said the officials came by the information via informants in other governments and their own eavesdropping on other governments.
The report said China has been using the information gleaned in this way to form a list of personal friends Trump speaks with frequently, as well as “what arguments work,” hoping to lobby these networks over the two countries’ trade war. That suggests that outsiders are able to access not only the phone numbers the president calls, but also the content of the calls themselves. Stephen A. Schwarzman, chief executive of private-equity giant Blackstone Group, and casino magnate Steve Wynn are on the list put together by China, the Times said.
It’s unclear how access to such communications might change China’s lobbying efforts—someone like Schwarzman, who
has invested in China and
sponsors a scholarship program in Beijing, is
already known to advise the president (paywall) on US-China ties. While representatives for both men declined to comment on the Times report, a spokeswoman for Schwarzman said the billionaire has served as an intermediary between the US and China at the request of leaders on both sides.
