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White House mulls ban on staffers’ personal mobile phones

Concerns over cybersecurity may drive the White House to nix personal cellphone use while staffers are at work. 

Noting that government-issued phones, which among other things don't allow users to text, are more secure than personal devices, one official cited by Bloomberg Politics said Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly is a proponent of the ban.

After it came to light that Kelly's smartphone was hacked by potentially by foreign operatives, the Secret Service reportedly put the kibosh on personal devices in the West Wing.

In a memo sent to agents in early October, the protective service introduced a “restrictive policy” that required personal devices to “either be secured and provided lock boxes … or turned off completely prior to entering the West Wing,” reported MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. 

Kelly's personal phone was hacked, possibly as long ago as December 2016 and, the chief of staff, who typically used his government-issued phone, apparently switched personal devices.

The new Secret Service policy was said to apply to visitors to the West Wing as well, including tour groups.


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