Have Jared Kushner’s Personal Devices Been Compromised?

This is only my opinion, and not the representation of Saintel Daily, LLC.

According to Politico, the NSA warned Jared Kushner, and a number of other senior White House officials to not use their personal emails for work purposes.  We talked about this in a previous post, where I explained why using your personal email for work purposes is not a good thing.  But despite this warning, Kushner and other staffers all continued to use their private emails.

The NSA’s issued this warning because they believed that “cyberspies could be using sophisticated malware to turn the personal cellphones of White House aides into clandestine listening devices, to take photos and video without the user’s knowledge and to transfer vast amounts of data via Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth.”

This is an interesting twist; don’t you think?  Or am I reading too much into it?  To me, it sounds like they’re worried about “someone” being able to use their phones to turn them into listening devices.  Which sounds like something out of a political thriller, don’t you think? Further to that, the NSA told the officials to assume their phones were already compromised, as well as their personal computers and contact lists on such devices. This is all extremely hypocritical considering how much flack Donald Trump gave Hillary Clinton during the election, related to her use of private emails.  The Senate Intelligence Committee also raised the concern that Kushner had failed to disclose his personal email amid their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

This is all extremely hypocritical considering how much flack Donald Trump gave Hillary Clinton during the election, related to her use of private emails.  The Senate Intelligence Committee also raised the concern that Kushner had failed to disclose his personal email amid their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

The NSA is worried that they can’t closely control the access points between the personal devices and the outside world.  Therefore, security agencies cannot guarantee foreign espionage services have not broken into them.  Apparently, though, there have been similar concerns by every administration in recent years.  But incoming personnel seem to be underestimating the risks that come with their positions.

Former cybersecurity adviser, Richard Clarke told Politico:

“Jared is probably one of the top five or ten targets in the U.S. government because of his access to the president and because of the portfolios he’s been given.  It’s a pretty safe bet that his personal devices have been compromised by foreign intelligence services. And therefore there is some risk that meetings he attends are compromised too.”

I’m not saying that this isn’t a concern, but the way the NSA is describing it, it sounds like they’re in the business of writing TV shows.  That being said, Kushner is extremely close to the president and maybe some information has already been leaked?  Maybe his device has been hacked?  But on the other hand, who would be doing it?  If you’re following me on this, then you know who I’m implicating.  And if you’re following me on this, then you already know what I’m going to say.

Which is – who cares?  Trump is likely already broadcasting matters of national security through Twitter, so what difference does it make if Kushner’s devices get hacked?  I understand the concern that the NSA has.  I also understand the destruction that this could cause, but I think the worst case scenario has happened and is happening.  I think Donald Trump is more of a threat to national security than the use of personal email.  But can anyone stop him from doing what he wants?