Russia and China are listening in on President Trump’s relativity unsecured private iPhone conversations in an attempt to leverage influence on U.S. policy, the intelligence community reportedly has discovered.
After making Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server a centerpiece of his campaign and despite repeated warnings about using unsecured personal smartphones, Trump continues to call friends and advisors on three iPhones, the New York Times reported, citing sources who claimed China, in particular, is making a list of his contacts to ply with pro-Chinese messages.
Among those contacts, allegedly, are Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwartzman and casino owner Steve Wynn.
Russia, in contrast, is eavesdropping to divine Trump’s stance on a number of issues, the report said.
Former White House CIO Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions, said if the revelation is true, then it could be the most significant White House communications breach in history, providing China with a direct line into Trump’s thinking.
She noted that additional security protocols may be inconvenient but they are a necessity, pointing out that senior officials use more secure hardwired phones and follow basic operational security measures to protect the country’s important secrets.
Trump tweeted Thursday, apparently from an iPhone, that the Times account "soooo wrong!" and claimed "I only use Government Phones and have one seldom used government cell phone."
But NBC News reported that government officials said they’d been concerned for quite some time that the president was using an unsecured phone when discussing sensitive information with confidantes like Fox News host Sean Hannity.
