Phone Hacking Scandal Raises Security Questions
The government’s phone hacking inquiry looks set to reopen, prompting an examination of MPs’ phone security
British prosecutors are considering new evidence in their review of the phone hacking scandal that cost senior government aide Andy Coulson his job.
Any related evidence of mobile voicemail interception from “recent or new substantive allegations” made to the Metropolitan Police Service will be assessed by a senior barrister, who is already probing the material held by the police, according to Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer.
The news comes amid claims by former MP Paul Marsden that his phone might have been hacked by a Daily Mirror journalist in 2003. He has vowed to take legal action if his claim is proven.
The fresh allegations in the review – overseen by Alison Levitt QC – could lead the Crown Prosecution Service to recommend that the Metropolitan Police reopen its investigation into the phone hacking controversy.
Phone hacking scandals
Many high-profile individuals have claimed their phones were hacked, including former prime minister Gordon Brown, who has called in Scotland Yard over fears his private communicatiosn were compromised.
Tony Blair – who did not have a personal mobile phone while in office – is also understood to have expressed concerns that hackers might have intercepted messages he had left on other people’s phones.
One of the major phone hacking cases involved the News of the World’s former royal editor Clive Goodman. Along with this private detective Glenn Mulcaire, he was imprisoned in 2007 for intercepting phone calls by members of the royal family. The incident led to Andy Coulson’s resignation from his job at the time as editor of the News of the World.
On 21 January Coulson announced his decision to step down from his position as David Cameron’s communications director, citing “continued coverage of events connected to my old job at the News of the World”. The decision prompted the prime minister to insist that Coulson was being “punished for the same offence twice”.
Hacking technique
The phone hacking scandal has once again raised the issue of mobile security in the national media, causing the industry to leap into action.
In December, security researches Karsten Nohl and Sylvain Munaut demonstrated a phone hacking technique at the Chaos Computer Club Congress (CCC) in Berlin, that enabled them to intercept a call in 20 seconds.
The researchers employed four cheap phones and open source software to eavesdrop on calls and text messages, storing data so that it could be decrypted at a later stage.
According to mobile security firm GSMK, the growing threat of phone hacking puts senior politicians at risk and could compromise national security.
“All too often, sloppy security measures and unencrypted calls allow these hackers to gain access to correspondence completely undetected,” said Bjoern Rupp, CEO at GSMK. urging phone users to be vigilant when using mobile devices without any security protection.
