14 DAY TRIAL // Security measures have been revised after an individual pretending to be Robert Hannigan, the director of government monitoring agency GCHQ, called UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
Needless to say that getting to chat over the phone with the British PM is not something anyone can do, as not only the calls are monitored and go through an official switchboard but the numbers are not listed.
Prankster was honest, said it was a hoax call
The prime minister’s phone number was not the only one the prankster managed to learn, as a few days ago he was also handed the number of Robert Hannigan when calling through the GCHQ switchboard.
So, basically, the caller successfully social engineered his way through two government switchboards to get the coveted information and to contact David Cameron.
Not only this, but The Sun claims that after talking to the prime minister, the hoaxer rang them and said that he was “off [his] face on booze and cocaine.”
At a press conference, David Cameron explained the entire incident saying that he was on a walk in his constituency, with his daughter on his back, when his BlackBerry warned of an incoming call.
When he answered, he was informed that it was a conference call with the GCHQ chief. Nothing out of the ordinary until this point, but the voice apologized for waking him up (although it was 11 AM), at which point Cameron replied with “Who is this?” The individual at the other end answered that it was a hoax call.
This was actually the entire conversation, as the prime minister then terminated the call.
Hoax calls prompt review of security procedures
The two incidents did not go unaddressed by the government and a notice was sent “to all departments to be on alert for such calls.” The official statement says that the call made to GCHQ “resulted in the disclosure of a mobile phone number for the director.”
It was not the device used for discussing classified information, the government said; however, the number benefited from some protection as it was not listed.
“Both GCHQ and Number 10 take security seriously and both are currently reviewing procedures following these hoax calls to ensure that the Government learns any lessons from this incident,” the official statement added.
Even if no harm was done, it is still worrying that someone managed to get past the security measures imposed to the phone switchboards for the prime minister’s and GCHQ boss’ calls.
Government statement on No10/GCHQ hoax calls pic.twitter.com/gV9YD7tNLG
— John Stevens (@johnestevens) January 25, 2015
