A report Monday night reveals President Trump ignores basic security protocols, leaving his cell phones open to hacking. The news made many on social media go ballistic, given Trump’s threat he would jail Hillary Clinton for what he claimed was her intentional mishandling of security assets.
“President Donald Trump uses a White House cell phone that isn’t equipped with sophisticated security features designed to shield his communications, according to two senior administration officials – a departure from the practice of his predecessors that potentially exposes him to hacking or surveillance,” Politico reports.
Trump “has rebuffed staff efforts to strengthen security around his phone use,” “has kept features at risk for hacking,” and even “resisted efforts by staff to inspect the phones he uses for tweeting.”
White House aides “have urged the president to swap out the Twitter phone on a monthly basis, Trump has resisted their entreaties, telling them it was ‘too inconvenient,'” according to an administration official. “The president has gone as long as five months without having the phone checked by security experts.”
By contrast, President Barack Obama religiously had his cell phone checked every 30 days.
Trump’s cell phones have both a camera and a microphone, making them extremely susceptible to hacking, especially by foreign governments, which he travels to not infrequently. President Obama’s for security reasons, were not equipped with either a camera or a microphone.
“Keeping those components creates a risk that hackers could use them to access the phone and monitor the president’s movements,” Politico adds.
In typical fashion, the Trump White House insisted their procedures and even technology are better that their predecessor’s.
“Due to inherent capabilities and advancement in technologies, these devices are more secure than any Obama era devices.”
On social media, many are furious.