12 MPs and ministers caught in WhatsApp honey trap

How can you be sure who you are really talking to?

The most recent story to hit the headlines of politicians’ use of consumer grade apps carries with it yet another warning for us all. 12 people including ministers, politicians, staffers and a political journalist have been targeted in a highly personal and potentially compromising attack. Politico, a news website, reported https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68731683.amp that one senior MP was targeted via a dating app, and tricked/blackmailed into sharing contact details of colleagues that also worked in Westminster with their new ‘beau’.  By the time that the victim realised what was happening the account of the perpetrator had disappeared.  12 people have now admitted to receiving unsolicited approaches via WhatsApp in what appears to be a highly co-ordinated and well planned attack.

When personal life gets mixed up with business

Call it catfishing, spearfishing or social engineering, this incident demonstrates the dangers of mass adoption messaging apps, particularly for those holding public office. It is vitally important for people to be aware of the importance of checking the identity and to be sure that they are communicating with who they think they are. While using a secure messaging platform would probably not have helped in this instance as the situation developed in someone’s personal life, it does show just how quickly business life can become mixed up with personal.  And it certainly highlights just how easily mass adoption apps such as WhatsApp can be subverted, making them totally unsuitable for business, where any amount of sensitive information, potentially putting at risk national security, could be at risk.

Dealing with AI and deepfake secure identity is key

In the age of AI and deepfakes these type of attacks are likely to become more prevalent and everyone needs to up their game in terms of thinking more carefully about where information is coming from, and who they are dealing with.

Keep your personal life to yourself and your business life professional

The Armour Secure Comms platform provides a closed secure environment where people can only join the platform if authorised to do so by their organisation, are allowed only to access the user groups that they need to, and built-in identity-based encryption and authentication ensures that everyone they communicate with is, indeed, who they say they are. Plus, if needed, these communications can be stored for audit, compliance or public records.

If you are discussing matters of state, commercially valuable information, or sensitive client/partner information, better to do it over an environment that your organisation has complete control of.

Read our Buyer’s Guide to find out what you should be looking for, and the questions you should ask of any vendor.  https://www.armourcomms.com/2023/06/29/securing-communications-channels-a-buyers-guide/