Not even Chinese spies will make Trump give up his iPhone

Hypocrisy? Nah, never heard of it.
 By 
Rachel Kraus
 on 
Not even Chinese spies will make Trump give up his iPhone
Nobody is gonna tell this grown up boy what phone he can use! Credit: MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

Remember when Hillary Clinton's private email server allegedly helped lose her the election? Those were the days.

President Trump will not stop making calls on his multiple iPhones, even though his own aides have told him that Russian and Chinese spies are intercepting his communications. Multiple Trump aides spoke to the New York Times about this for a new report, who said they were doing so out of "frustration."

Trump has three iPhones: two official modified government phones for Twitter and phone calls. Then, there's his personal phone, which he reportedly won't give up because it has his contacts in it.

The Times reports that spy agencies intercept phone calls "as they travel through the cell towers, cables, and switches that make up national and international cellphone networks."

Spying on cellphone calls is also pretty common amongst foreign powers — remember when the Obama administration got caught listening in on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cell phone?

Because government agencies know that this sort of interception is not only possible, but likely, officials are encouraged to make only secure landline calls. The Times said that Trump is doing this "slightly more often," but still makes calls to his friends, allies, and sounding boards from his trusty mobile.

"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," writes the Times.

Here's some weirdly good news: aides are reportedly not so worried about Trump disclosing classified information over his cellphone – mainly because Trump doesn't pay very close attention to details about national security.

Chinese intelligence is reportedly listening in on the calls in order to figure out who influences Trump's decisions, and try to influence them to give the president China-friendly advice.

The Russians' efforts aren't as calculated. They're mostly just listening in, ya know, for the heck of it. Trump's iPhone security is notoriously bad, as Motherboard pointed out in May. He also once left his phone in the back of a golf cart, so there's that. Sleep tight, America.

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Rachel Kraus

Rachel Kraus is a Mashable Tech Reporter specializing in health and wellness. She is an LA native, NYU j-school graduate, and writes cultural commentary across the internetz.

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