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UK PM's Aide Loses BlackBerry In Chinese Honeytrap

longacre writes "The Times of London is today reporting a January incident in which a top aide to Prime Minister Gordon Brown discovered his BlackBerry missing from his hotel room after spending the night with an attractive woman who approached him in a Shanghai disco. Seems this was a run-of-the-mill BlackBerry without any encryption, only a simple password lock. The greatest fear is that, even if the device did not contain any sensitive messages at the time, there was likely enough information on board for a hostile intelligence service to snake its way deep into Downing Street's email servers. The aide was 'informally reprimanded.'"

17 of 260 comments (clear)

  1. Had it been a slashdotter... by nacturation · · Score: 4, Funny

    Would he have reported the loss of his virginity?
     

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    1. Re:Had it been a slashdotter... by martin-boundary · · Score: 3, Funny

      Ha! He actually tried, but the lameness filter prevented it...

  2. What they aren't telling us by davidwr · · Score: 4, Funny

    They aren't telling us that Scotland Yard did this deliberately just to see how the Chinese would react.

    What the Chinese aren't telling us is they knew this was a trap and reacted accordingly.

    What Scotland Yard also isn't telling us is that they knew the Chinese would see the trap and were counting on them to react accordingly.

    What the Chinese also aren't telling us ....

    oooh my head hurts.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
    1. Re:What they aren't telling us by JustOK · · Score: 5, Funny

      oooh my head hurts.

      which was part of the plan all along.

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
  3. Does PM Brown have any open positions? by johannesg · · Score: 4, Funny

    I promise not to carry anything sensitive, and I'll distract the attractive Chinese women for him so his secrets will remain safe!

  4. And the cover up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    The woman was not really attractive, he was just desperate.

    Seriously, is the woman's attractiveness really pertinent to what happened, and was her attractiveness fact-checked? Or is "attractive Shanghai woman" a British idiom for "prostitute"?

  5. Re:This seems to be a recurring problem. by zach_d · · Score: 5, Funny

    My country doesn't have the budget, frankly. I'm Canadian.

  6. If you can lose a blackberry... by AlienIntelligence · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ew, if you could lose a blackberry in that
    Chinese Honeypot, I wouldn't stick around.

    -AI

    --
    For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion
  7. Here's how they knew it was a honeytrap operation: by Paul+Crowley · · Score: 5, Funny

    They know what the aide looks like.

    ba-dump *tsssh*!

  8. Re:technology savvy should be a job requirement by Majik+Sheff · · Score: 5, Funny

    Of course. Then the aide will be so busy playing with his blackberry that he won't notice the attractive woman. Of course if he did notice her he'd still be too shy to talk to her.

    I like your plan; it's sound.

    --
    Women are like electronics: you don't know how damaged they are until you try to turn them on.
  9. Let me get this straight. by dreamchaser · · Score: 4, Funny

    His Blackberry got shanghaied in Shanghai?

  10. He forgot to secure the client-side by arcade · · Score: 5, Funny

    Tsktsk.

    He should get instructions on how to safely do Penetration Testing of the Chinese secret service. Clearly he forgot to secure the client side properly. Except for that, the article is a tad vague on whether the testing itself went smoothly and he found some holes.

    *Ahem*

    --
    "Rune Kristian Viken" - http://www.nwo.no - arca
  11. Re:This seems to be a recurring problem. by dotancohen · · Score: 5, Funny

    My country doesn't have the attractive women, frankly. I'm Canadian.

    There, fixed that for you.

    --
    It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
  12. Re:This seems to be a recurring problem. by MPAB · · Score: 5, Funny

    Members of the British Government will now be expecting an increased amount of spam and unsolicited phone salesmen calling to offer V1agra and other products.

    Will that be because of the data inside the phone or because of the chinese lady's detailed report?

  13. Re:Honeytrap? Proof? by pallmall1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...he may not have been able to keep his penis out of the hands of the chinese...

    Yeah, he should have just kept it in his own hands.

    --
    3 things about computers: they're alive, they're self-aware, and they hate your guts.
  14. Aide?? - Sebastian? by kramulous · · Score: 3, Funny

    My guess was that the aide's name was Sebastian and after the recent bi-election there was call for a celebration! *clap hands* Champaign!

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    .
  15. Re:How foolish by slashmojo · · Score: 4, Funny

    You've clearly never been to Asia. Rest assured you can see many examples of exactly this happening all over Asia

    And so begins the great stampede of slashdot readers heading for asia.. ;)