Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, the Federal Territories minister in charge of the development and administration of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan, has joined the ranks of celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and Scarlett Johansson in having his phone hacked to embarrassing effect.
The Star has reported that 72 Umrah pilgrims, including several imam, got the shock of a lifetime when they received pornographic WhatsApp images from the minister’s phone number.
Ku Nan, as he is affectionately known, was only made aware of the pictures after a concerned pilgrim reported the misfire back to him.
The minister is quoted as saying that leaving his device unattended was “my mistake [and] that irresponsible people had probably taken the opportunity to clone my phone.”
Phone cloning is as easy as taking out the SIM card of a user’s phone without their knowledge, copying it with a SIM reader that carries an ability to read the card’s unique cryptographic key, then transferring it to another phone.
Worryingly, if your phone’s messages are not encrypted, sophisticated hackers can use a nearby phone tower to send dick pics without your knowledge. Although WhatsApp offers end to end encryption, it’s still not 100% safe from hackers at large.
Moral of the story? If you’re a high profile politician, it’s probably in your best interest to not leave your phone lying around. Be on the safe side, and use a password instead of a pattern lock, as they’re more secure. And last but not least, take technology security seriously, as the ramifications can be devastating. Just ask Hilary Clinton.
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