SocDems’ Gannon asking for investigation into hacking of Minister’s phone

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon has written to the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee asking that the hacking of Minister Simon Coveney’s mobile phone be investigated as a matter of urgency.

“Yesterday, while answering questions at the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee about his failed attempt to appoint Katherine Zappone as a special envoy, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said he routinely deletes text messages from his phone due to storage issues with his phone,” said Deputy Gannon.

“Today, the story has changed.

“Now, we are told that the Minister regularly deletes messages from his phone as his phone was previously hacked.

“Bizarrely, the Minister made this revelation in an entirely cavalier fashion – failing to allude to the fact that the hacking of his phone is a serious national security concern,” he said.

Deputy Gannon said he has now asked that the committee investigate the matter and find out how many times Minister Coveney’s phone has been hacked, how many times has it happened, how did it happen, what data was breached, and what steps have been put in place to stop further attacks.

“The Minister has an obligation to retain official records, including his text messages – not least so they can be accessible under the Freedom of Information Act.

“The Minister should therefore not be engaged in a practice of bulk deleting text messages on a regular ad hoc basis.

“The Minister should especially not be doing this in a purported attempt to thwart hackers.

“One would have hoped the State had better ways to protect sensitive Ministerial records and information.

“I am hopeful that the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee will quickly respond to my request that this matter is investigated as a matter of urgency,” he said.