President Donald Trump is reportedly circumventing traditional security protocol for his electronic communications by using two separate cell phones.
One of the mobile devices is his old phone, which has reportedly worried some in the federal government due to its potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and the other is the U.S. Secret-Service-approved secure phone, according to an Axios report.
Trump now has a “secret system” with friends and colleagues in order to (at least to some degree) maintain compliance.
A person who wants to have the president’s ear can simply call and either leave a voicemail on the old phone, or hope that Trump sees the caller ID. If the president so chooses, he will call back from his state-sponsored secure device, bypassing the standard security procedure, while still observing the letter of the law.
His personal device of choice, an Android smartphone, became a cause of national security concern for other officials in the past month. Security agencies urged him to get rid of the device and utililze a new one so nefarious hackers couldn’t easily infiltrate it. The Associated Press originally reported that he agreed to do so.
Trump also apparently likes to use phones more than other forms of communication, often opting for consultation through this channel, according to the Axios report.
“These are the most beautiful phones I’ve ever used in my life,” Trump told The New York Times. “The world’s most secure system. The words just explode in the air.”
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