When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese and the Russians Listen and Learn
1–10 of 97 posts
Re: When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese and the Russians Listen and Learn
#2> Mr. Trump’s aides have repeatedly warned him that his cellphone calls are not secure, and they have told him that Russian spies are routinely eavesdropping on the calls, as well. But aides say the voluble president, who has been pressured into using his secure White House landline more often these days, has still refused to give up his iPhones.
How is blatant disregard for communication security not an impeachable offense? This behavior is not only destructive for himself, but destructive for the nation. Does he have to send nuclear launch codes over SMS before he gets in any sort of trouble?
Re: When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese and the Russians Listen and Learn
#3Hmm...why don't they force Wifi calling? Should be more secure than GSM, no?
Re: When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese and the Russians Listen and Learn
#4It would be interesting if phone calls ended up becoming end-to-end encrypted because of something like this.
Re: When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese and the Russians Listen and Learn
#5> Mr. Trump’s aides have repeatedly warned him that his cellphone calls are not secure, and they have told him that Russian spies are routinely eavesdropping on the calls, as well. But aides say the voluble president, who has been pressured into using his secure White House landline more often these days, has still refused to give up his iPhones. How is blatant disregard for communication security not an impeachable…
> How is blatant disregard for communication security not an impeachable offense?
Political apathy and cowardice.
> Does he have to send nuclear launch codes over SMS before he gets in any sort of trouble?
As long as Congress decides who gets impeached, even that might not knock him out.
Re: When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese and the Russians Listen and Learn
#6Hmm...why don't they force Wifi calling? Should be more secure than GSM, no?
Does the white house have wifi? Serious question.
Re: When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese and the Russians Listen and Learn
#7>Officials said the president has two official iPhones that have been altered by the National Security Agency to limit their capabilities — and vulnerabilities — and a third personal phone that is no different from hundreds of millions of iPhones in use around the world. Mr. Trump keeps the personal phone, White House officials said, because unlike his other two phones, he can store his contacts in it.
If this is truly the root cause of the issue, it should be relatively simple to rectify.
ETA: aside from the obvious solution of getting his contacts on the secure phones, is there any reason he couldn't use a satellite phone to bypass insecure cell networks altogether?
Re: When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese and the Russians Listen and Learn
#8Why is this #1 article of HN front page?
Re: When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese and the Russians Listen and Learn
#9Similarly to how agreed-upon overflights increase security (as your opponent knows you're not preparing an attack and/or are keeping to treaty obligations) one could consider this a good thing.
Of course China is not currently a military threat to the US, at least at the level deserving attention of a US president (e.g. random encounters in the Spratleys are jostling, not escalation).
I certainly don't think this is a responsible practice but it's interesting to consider it in a game theoretic context.
Re: When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese and the Russians Listen and Learn
#10> Mr. Trump’s aides have repeatedly warned him that his cellphone calls are not secure, and they have told him that Russian spies are routinely eavesdropping on the calls, as well. But aides say the voluble president, who has been pressured into using his secure White House landline more often these days, has still refused to give up his iPhones. How is blatant disregard for communication security not an impeachable…
> How is blatant disregard for communication security not an impeachable offense? Political apathy and cowardice. > Does he have to send nuclear launch codes over SMS before he gets in any sort of trouble? As long as Congress decides who gets impeached, even that might not knock him out.
And who should decide who gets impeached? The New York Times?