Merkel has two phones, just one encrypted
On the back of revelations that the US has been listening into Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone, the leader said on Friday that she has two phones. The one that the NSA were listening to is not used for really important chats.
Merkel told EU leaders in Brussels on Friday morning that she has two mobile phones. One, a Blackberry, is encrypted and the other, a Nokia, is not. They are used to separate conversations about the government, and those covering the activity of her party, the Christian Democrats (CDU).
She explained that she used a mobile phone funded by the CDU to make calls concerning the party to demonstrate that she would not use a state government-funded phone to make CDU-specific calls.
This is likely the phone that the NSA were listening in on. Any calls made as Chancellor are done on an encrypted Blackberry or encrypted landlines, the Welt newspaper reported on Friday.
“It is perhaps not a coincidence that the lines more often tapped are those that are less protected,” Merkel told the summit.
Safety experts said that, since the news broke that the US were listening in on Merkel's conversations, the NSA would not have managed to hack into encrypted phone calls.
“It has become clear that something has to change in the future, and seriously at that,” Merkel told the room.
READ MORE: Merkel: Spying among allies 'not on'
The Local/jcw
Follow us on Twitter @thelocalgermany
Like The Local Germany on Facebook
Comments
See Also
Merkel told EU leaders in Brussels on Friday morning that she has two mobile phones. One, a Blackberry, is encrypted and the other, a Nokia, is not. They are used to separate conversations about the government, and those covering the activity of her party, the Christian Democrats (CDU).
She explained that she used a mobile phone funded by the CDU to make calls concerning the party to demonstrate that she would not use a state government-funded phone to make CDU-specific calls.
This is likely the phone that the NSA were listening in on. Any calls made as Chancellor are done on an encrypted Blackberry or encrypted landlines, the Welt newspaper reported on Friday.
“It is perhaps not a coincidence that the lines more often tapped are those that are less protected,” Merkel told the summit.
Safety experts said that, since the news broke that the US were listening in on Merkel's conversations, the NSA would not have managed to hack into encrypted phone calls.
“It has become clear that something has to change in the future, and seriously at that,” Merkel told the room.
READ MORE: Merkel: Spying among allies 'not on'
The Local/jcw
Follow us on Twitter @thelocalgermany
Like The Local Germany on Facebook
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.