Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

UK PM's Aide Loses BlackBerry In Chinese Honeytrap

Posted by timothy on from the my-envy-exceeds-his-chagrin dept.

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.'"

8 of 260 comments (clear)

  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
  2. 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.

  3. 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
  4. 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*!

    --
    Xenu loves you!
  5. 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.
  6. 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
  7. 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.
  8. 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?