Coveney claims to have previously been hacked.

banie01

This would flow with Zappone thread but the latest claim by Simon Coveney is of absolutely huge import with regard Ireland's national security and diplomacy.

Coveney has claimed that he clears his phone regularly as he has previously been victim of a hack. Now this is vitally important as this man holds 2 of the most security sensitive ministerial posts in Foreign Affairs and Defence...

https://twitter.com/sharonmlynch/status/1433032501782515719?s=19

Yet, the issue that brings this man's security being breached into the public domain? Is his excusing deleting texts, as he regularly "clears" his phone?

It gives the impression he regularly resets his device? In the age of 2FA, SCA and server side retention?

None of this makes sense, in particular any and all ministerial communication should be subject to preservation order and archive. Not the whim of the recipient.

I don't believe him, I think this is a ridiculous hill to stake ones political career on and I do hope that given this man is the arbiter of our state security and intelligence service as well as privy to all our diplomatic Comms.

I would hope that that this is investigated in the full light of day by the Dail Committees with oversight of Defence and FA, and journalists ensure a satisfactory answer is provided to the Who, What, Where and when of this massive breach of our national security.

Kermit.de.frog

Various authors and insiders will tell you most bugging/hacking of Irish diplomatic staff has traditionally been from British security services. Listening devices inside government buildings/phone tapping, that sort of stuff.

It was endemic in the 70's and 80's. I'm not sure how it is today as it's not written on as much after the northern conflict but with Brexit and Ireland's role in that I don't think it would surprise anyone that diplomats/officials here are hacked/bugged.

In fact I'd be surprised if it's changed that much really.

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117832834#Comment_117832834

We know that.

The issue at hand here IMO is far different tho.

The Minister has claimed he deletes data on a regular basis due to a prior hack. All ministerial Comms must be archived afaik? Further deleting data does not preclude it's leaking from a compromised device, particularly if the device has been exploited via a rootkit or some of the more advanced Israeli software.

The issue is that Minister of Defense and Foreign affairs for a nation with a seat at the UN security council, is claiming to have been hacked and is running his own opsec via a routine deletion.

What data has been compromised? What matters of our defence, our diplomatic communication and data attained via our UN position has been potentially leaked?

Why was a matter of such national import, mentioned in passing as part of evading am FOI request regarding an invite to Zappones party?

mickotoole

https://twitter.com/BrianHonan/status/1433062441190141953?s=20

maestroamado

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzGkbDccKBdxGQvnWsShQTZvxSGc

Is this a kindof April fools joke... Surely a few heads should roll if this article correct...

Muahahaha

How does he know he was hacked? Is it just his hunch or did he give up his phone to be checked by the Cyber Crime unit in the Gardai to confirm it has been hacked in the past? Did he report it to the Gardai as a crime and whats the status of their investigation? And who do they suspect of doing the hacking?

Theres so many questions for Simon to answer here. He is the Minister of Defence so why isnt he getting to the bottom of who was hacking him, it is a clear national security issue. If he is not taking his phone being hacked seriously then why is he even the Minister of Defence?

skimpydoo

Yesterday, Coveney claimed he deleted the messages to free up space on his phone. When it was pointed out that this was not an issue, he suddenly claims he was hacked?. Which was it Simple Simon? You needed to free up space? or because you were hacked in the past?

It's neither as Coveney is a sneaky lying bollix.

Kermit.de.frog

I'm in two minds here. On the one hand Coveney is making a needless hash of this whole thing. On the other I think he is the most gifted politician in the Dail who has done great work in DFA particularly over Brexit.

Just sort it out ffs.

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117834191#Comment_117834191

It's past sorting out. The only option left is for Coveney to resign.

A story about to break about Minister Coveney and he's trying to get ahead of it?

Amirani

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117833545#Comment_117833545

He never said he was "hacked" while he was a Minister. So it may not necessarily be a national security issue.

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117833545#Comment_117833545

That this "hack" is "broken" as an effort to distract from the Zappone matter, rather than admit to being corrupt or playing the old game of jobs for the boys(or girls)

He claims to be deleting data on an ongoing basis due to a prior hack 🙄 Seriously this is a matter for the D J2 and the Special Branch.

Our Minister has claimed he was hacked, there is a difference between a phishing attempt and a hack that I'm sure Coveney would be well aware of.

The hacking of an iPhone in anycase is not really a matter for anyone, it takes targeted resources at a state level. Coveney's excuse for losing the messages is unbelievable and given his particular portfolios?

It is very urgent that either the state's security apparatus investigates and reports on the status of the phone, and the circumstances of the prior hack. Or, Coveney recants his claim and resigns.

In either case, deleting communications on the fly as a minister should be a stackable offense!

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117834248#Comment_117834248

According to Pearse Doherty it's an offence that he can be charged with.

rock22

Seems like he is playing the old Bertie Aherne trick ( I don't have a bank account ) so no one can check on his texts

ohnonotgmail

what is going on with posts in this thread being deleted?

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117832834#Comment_117832834

If be surprised if the Brits and Americans didn't have some people on their payroll tbh.

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117834226#Comment_117834226

He's been a Minister of some description for the last 10 years. Even if he claims it happened before that when did he report this crime to the Gardai and what was the outcome of the investigation? Theres so many unanswered questions, if he was hacked while a MInister and didnt report it to the Special Branch that on its own is a national security issue and certainly a potential resigning matter for the current Minister of Defence who is not taking national security seriously.

magicbastarder

to add to the fog, if this is correct, he was not hacked:

https://twitter.com/gavreilly/status/1433102390962556935?s=21

sligojoek

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117834941#Comment_117834941

I was going to say something similar. He was hacked before becoming a minister and has done nothing about improving his security since.

Surely there's a central system that records data from all "official state" devices and backs it up in case of "accidental" deletion. Would have been handy for Martin Callinan and Noreen O Sullivan. They could have proved their innocence.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117834330#Comment_117834330

Simon Coveney is deleting them. His account was hacked a while back

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835108#Comment_117835108

He was in his hole hacked. Its like me telling my teacher that my dog ate my homework.

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835454#Comment_117835454

The dog in your avatar?

ForestFire

How does deleting text message from known contacts protect you from a hack or phishing from someone else?

rocjohn

Any government business conducted by phone should be done on a secure government owned phone ,all communications should be downloaded and stored and periodic security checks of those phones carried out.

There is a good reason why a civil servant (member of the permanent government) is always present with a minister ,it prevents corruption and scenarios such as the corrupt appointment of Zappone.The permanent government should have a digital presence as above.

GCHQ monitors everything ,Coveney et al make themselves vulnerable to blackmail etc when they make secret deals off the books unknown to the Irish people but recorded by foreign intelligence services.

BobHopeless

Keep digging Simon.

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835527#Comment_117835527

It doesn't. If Coveney knew his tech he would stop digging.

solasGael

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117834191#Comment_117834191

I think of him as a highly skilled politician, whar happened. He keeps digging himself in deeper.

Atlantic Dawn

I don't understand why they don't then just get the senders of the texts to show their conversations, he can only delete his copy, they will still have theirs.

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117834941#Comment_117834941

Does everyone you know report a crime to the Gardai when their phone/Facebook/WhatsApp has been hacked/scammed/imitated?

blanch152

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835731#Comment_117835731

https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2021/0901/1244131-politics-zappone-texts/

Leo released his copies. That will surely prompt another 1000 posts analysing them.

ForestFire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835742#Comment_117835742

In our company we are constantly doing cyber security training, which includes a nice little test, and have a cyber security hotline, were we have to report even any suspicious activity.

If a company phone or laptop got hacked, then yes we are obliged to report it immediately.

archfi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835742#Comment_117835742

You are kidding, right?

Get Real

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835742#Comment_117835742

No. But they're not the minister for foreign affairs. Tbh, if my phone was hacked, as long as my bank details weren't affected, I prob wouldn't bother reporting it. Change phone and move on.

But, if there's sensitive data on a Govt minister's phone..and he must think so if he's the one saying that's why he deletes things...if its hacked, he has a duty to report it. End of.

Same for anyone with a device that contains sensitive data or other peoples information. If my work phone was hacked, and there was the potential for customers details, financials etc to be accessed, I have a duty to report it and make them aware. As a precaution.

Never mind being the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence.

To come up with an excuse that's so easy to verify, is amateur hour.

So he's saying he's responsible enough to routinely delete his messages because he's was hacked. But not responsible enough to notify his boss, relevant State agancies, anybody in possession of any documents and the Gardaí / Department of Defence. Come off it.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835776#Comment_117835776

Not tech savvy at all here.

How would you know you were hacked? And what level of expertise is required to fix it, delete messages and carry on using phone, confident nobody is monitoring what you are doing in real time?

Ha Long Bay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835820#Comment_117835820

Did he say his phone was hacked before? I didn't pick that up from the interview.

ForestFire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835820#Comment_117835820

If you receive any type of phishing emails or txt, they must be report to the CS team.

This allows them to monitor, block or send warnings throughout the company to ensure nobody, or at least less people, are caught out.

I've never been hacked, but you might notice your passwords have changed, emails sent from your device, that you did not send, or maybe your locked out completely.

An employee does not need any expertise to fix it, only to report anything detected/suspicious and then the IS/IT/CS teams will take up the task of investigation and any fixes.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835861#Comment_117835861

Ok, get that.

What I was wondering was, could he fix it himself and carry on? There doesn't seem to have been any reports of a senior ministers phone being breached or an investigation.

In your opinion could he have fixed it and carry on?

One other question, can a phone be hacked with the purpose of monitoring what somebody is doing and the owner never know about it?

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835742#Comment_117835742

If they held an important job such as a minister in Government then it must be reported. I can't believe that you posted above. Are you taking the piss?

archfi

It's only a few short months ago that a phishing email caused the biggest attack on our infrastructure in history costing tens of millions and more than likely lives.

And here's the Merchant of Cork dealing with a 'hack' on his govt communications device by 'deleting texts'...and not immediately reporting the matter to our security authorities.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835899#Comment_117835899

If he was legitimately hacked??? Assuming this was a work phone or even a personal one yes, he'd have no way to know what was accessed and copied or listened to. Ask Israel about monitoring phones and the software to do it. More worrying is the talk of use of whatsapp, gmail etc on a government ministers work phone without hacking those are problematic for various reasons and your conversation is only as secure as the device you are communicating with anyway what ever about the security of your own.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835944#Comment_117835944

Story simple deosnt seem credible to me anyway

kippy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835108#Comment_117835108

Theres no 'system' that records and backs up all data from 'official state devices'.

For what I would hope were fairly obvious reasons.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835947#Comment_117835947

So basically if he logged into a sensitive government resource the hacker would also have access?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835974#Comment_117835974

No way to know, was he hacked in the first place and with what, how long had they access and when. How long is a piece of string. He wasn't hacked as we can all almost say with 100% certainty so no need to panic. I met him once at an event a few years ago and chatted with him and his wife for about a half hour and despite me not being a FG voter thought he was a decent sort, amazing what can happen when your neck is on the block and so publicly so.

sligojoek

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835970#Comment_117835970

There should be one. It's not rocket science, I know someone who works for a government agency. If he takes "his" jeep to the off licence at 9.55, his bosses will know.

How can it be so hard to record all ministerial correspondance on a database?

ForestFire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117835899#Comment_117835899

Could he fix it himself? I highly doubt it unless he is qualified, and even if he is, I'm sure official procedure would still to report it and have it investigated and fixed through the right People, so a wider investigation could happen.

Your second question, I would say yes it's possible, unless you have appropriate SW monitoring activity yourself and/or virus scanners etc. That are up to date with latest treats, but there is alway something new were your not going to be protected.

Kermit.de.frog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117834200#Comment_117834200

But by him doing that you would be doing Britain's bidding. You understand that?

There is a reason they hate him more than anyone else in our government.

They hate him because he is head and shoulders above any of their ministers.

Is it an acceptable sacrifice over something like this? i don't think it would be. Not for the country.

I think you and others would be doing Britain's bidding.

Simple as that.

skimpydoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117836058#Comment_117836058

So it's ok to break regulations and certain laws and not face the consequences?

Kermit.de.frog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117836068#Comment_117836068

To what end?

He represents us well.

What is to be gained?

I'm not saying there should not be sanction but ffs getting rid of Coveney would be so fcuking stupid when there are serious Brexit issues coming as soon as next month. Surely you can see that?

The Brits KNOW that. Mark my words.

Ha Long Bay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117836026#Comment_117836026

"More worrying is the talk of use of whatsapp, gmail etc on a government ministers work phone"

Can you throw up a link to this talk? Is it a few lads with pirate flags on Twitter or a genuine source?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117836076#Comment_117836076

This is the same sh1te yous used say about removing phil hogan*(hint: didnt make a jot of difference)

Essentially allow an erosion of standreds in public office,because the english imploded a few years ago and voted out of the EU

*i do generally think covoney is rare by irish political standreds,in that deos his best....but fcuk me,use some better defence than "durr cant do anything coz brexit"😴😴😴