Trump may be the most accessible Pres, for spies or scammers

More from the article ...

... Why it matters: If Trump is willing to answer unknown numbers, as The Atlantic reported this week, there's no guarantee a scammer, impersonator, or even a foreign intelligence operative couldn't have a chat with the president.

- - - There's no evidence that has actually happened. But recent reports involving Trump and other top officials have raised red flags about the security of their communications.

Driving the news: Federal authorities are investigating a scheme where someone spoofed the phone number of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles to impersonate her in calls to senators, governors, and CEOs, per the Wall Street Journal.

- - - Meanwhile, Chinese hackers reportedly penetrated U.S. telecom networks as early as summer 2023, according to Bloomberg " a year earlier than previously known.

- - - That access has been used by China-backed group Salt Typhoon to spy on Trump, Vice President Vance, and other officials, the NYT reported.

- - - Then there are the series of Signal-related scandals involving former national security adviser Mike Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others.

Between the lines: Eavesdropping on world leaders isn't new -- but it's a lot easier if the leader in question is using a personal phone and eschewing standard cybersecurity practices. ...

Pres Trump: Security? What's that? Does it slow down the selling of my occupancy of the Oval Office?

Cyberattack on U.S. Officials' Phones Traced to Suspected Chinese Espionage Ring
www.theyeshivaworld.com

... Cybersecurity investigators noticed a highly unusual software crash -- it was affecting a small number of smartphones belonging to people who worked in government, politics, tech and journalism.

The crashes, which began late last year and carried into 2025, were the tipoff to a sophisticated cyberattack that may have allowed hackers to infiltrate a phone without a single click from the user.

The attackers left no clues about their identities, but investigators at the cybersecurity firm iVerify noticed that the victims all had something in common: They worked in fields of interest to China's government and had been targeted by Chinese hackers in the past.

Foreign hackers have increasingly identified smartphones, other mobile devices and the apps they use as a weak link in U.S. cyberdefenses. Groups linked to China's military and intelligence service have targeted the smartphones of prominent Americans and burrowed deep into telecommunication networks, according to national security and tech experts. ...