A suspected Russian hack of former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ phone is thought to have leaked top-secret details regarding arms shipments.
Up to a year’s worth of conversations are thought to have ended up in Russian hands after the phone of former Prime Minister Liz Truss was hacked, jeopardising details of secret correspondence and arms shipments to Ukraine.
The nature of the attack, which was claimed in a report by the Mail on Sunday, has been branded as being extremely serious by UK parliamentarians across the political spectrum as tensions between Westminster and the Kremlin remain high.
According to the report, Truss’ phone is thought to have been hacked back when she was serving as foreign secretary, with the security breach being discovered during the first Conservative Party leadership race held this year.
As a result of the hack, which is suspected to have been perpetrated by agents operating on behalf of the Russian Federation, sensitive conversations between Truss and foreign dignitaries are thought to have been leaked.
Private conversations between the then minister and her main ally, Kwasi Kwarteng, during which they criticise then Prime Minister Boris Johnson are also thought to have been leaked, with it being feared that the material could have been used to blackmail the then Foreign Secretary.
It is claimed details of arms shipments being sent to Ukraine were on the phone, a matter of concern given the Vladimir Putin administration has previously said that all NATO shipments of weapons to the country are considered by the Kremlin to be legitimate military targets.
The hacked device is now reportedly being kept in a locked safe in a secure location in an effort to prevent further secrets from being leaked.
Politicians with both Britain’s Tory and Labour parties have issued warnings surrounding news of the hacking, with former Conservative Party leader Ian Duncan Smith saying that people are “too casual” about their phones, while Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, describing the security breach as “extremely serious”.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has been keen to deny the accusation, attacking Russia for making “false claims of an epic scale”.
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