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United Kingdom The Internet

Boris Johnson's Personal Mobile Phone Number Available Online For 15 Years (bbc.com) 37

Posted by BeauHD from the hiding-in-plain-sight dept.
Boris Johnson's personal mobile phone number has been freely available on the internet for the past 15 years, it has been revealed. The BBC reports: It was published in a think tank press release in 2006, but never deleted -- and appears to be the one the PM uses. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was "a serious situation [that] carries a security risk." But Chancellor Rishi Sunak said that, as far as he was aware, "all security protocols have been followed." It appears the number has been switched off but Downing Street still has not confirmed if the number will now be changed.

The think tank press release with the PM's number on it was related to Mr Johnson's then-job as a shadow higher education minister - and MP for Henley - and invited journalists to contact him for further comment. Two years later, he successfully stood to become mayor of London. Former national security adviser Lord Ricketts warned hostile states with "sophisticated cyber capabilities" or criminal gangs could now have access to Mr Johnson's digits. The crossbench peer also told BBC Radio 4's Today program that he would have thought changing your mobile number when becoming PM would be an "elementary security precaution these days."
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Boris Johnson's Personal Mobile Phone Number Available Online For 15 Years More

Boris Johnson's Personal Mobile Phone Number Available Online For 15 Years

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  • Just as well (Score:4, Funny)

    by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Friday April 30, 2021 @09:10PM (#61334286)

    Nobody would want to call him anyway.

  • How does this effect me?

    • You know that family that claims to rule over some island on the other side of the planet by self-proclaimed divine right? The one we keep seeing in American media for some reason? I think some wokery woke Hollywood type married one of them at some point?

      Yeah. That's the guy they appoint to rule on their behalf so they can get on with more important things like getting their names into American media and marrying into Hollywood.

      • No, he's our version of trump. We voted for him....whoops! Obscuring his phone number will not help with security

      • What does the prime minister have to do with the royal family?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by nagora ( 177841 )

        You know that family that claims to rule over some island on the other side of the planet by self-proclaimed divine right? The one we keep seeing in American media for some reason? I think some wokery woke Hollywood type married one of them at some point?

        Yeah. That's the guy they appoint to rule on their behalf so they can get on with more important things like getting their names into American media and marrying into Hollywood.

        You must be a real laugh at parties.

      • You know that family that claims to rule over some island on the other side of the planet by self-proclaimed divine right? The one we keep seeing in American media for some reason? I think some wokery woke Hollywood type married one of them at some point?

        Yeah. That's the guy they appoint to rule on their behalf so they can get on with more important things like getting their names into American media and marrying into Hollywood.

        "The guy" you're referring to is a pathetically incompetent buffoon propped up by nefarious interests within the Conservative Party & its sponsors/donors. If he did any work for the queen, he'd probably be held accountable & fired. Instead, the rest of us have to put up with his embarrassingly poor governing & public speaking skills.

        I understand that the USA had a similar president in the previous administration. Our thoughts & prayers go out to you. Please spare a little pity for us as we h

  • Useless Security Precaution (Score:4, Informative)

    by logicnazi ( 169418 ) <gerdes AT invariant DOT org> on Friday April 30, 2021 @09:38PM (#61334328) Homepage

    The idea that foreign governments wouldn't be able to figure out your phone number is kinda silly. That's not classified data, the possessors of the info (everyone you've ever called including your dry cleaner, schools you or family attend, dog sitter, babysitter etc..) potentially has that number and is under no legal obligation to keep it quite. I don't believe for a second that if the FSB wanted Boris's number it would take a skilled agent more than a few days to socially engineer or simply outright pay someone to have it over (pose as a journalist investigating corruption or just say you hate him and want to sign him up for spam).

    What is a security risk is acting like the number isn't known to your enemies. If you don't assume it's in their possesion you might start relying on that as a security measure to your detriment.

    —-

    But c'mon, let's be serious. This isn't really about security it's about the PM not getting signed up for a bunch of spam or otherwise annoyed and harrassed. Security is just a good excuse because it sounds a lot better than saying you are spending taxpayer dollars to save the PM from annoying spam and harassment. Even though it's perfectly reasonable (if the PM can't call friends or run their daily life efficiently that's that much less time attention and calm though they can put into the job)..

    • Of course its security, if he is harrassed by morons, that means he cant do his real properly.

      • Bothering a high up government official can get you on nasty lists though

      • For any random person phoning him the effect is likely to be the reverse. Also slowing down his work would mean money saved for the taxpayer as he would have less time to organise corruption.
        • So you really think that Boris organises everything the gov does ? Have you any idea how complex it is to write a single act of parliament ? The simplest would be dozens if not hundreds of pages, and govs pass laws all the time. its simply not possible for one person to do this much work. Feel free to write a 500 page paper on any topic 10 times in a year. Its not possible.
          • Sorry I was using a hyperbolic statement in an attempt at Earthling humour. However, I'm not even sure you meant to reply to me, as your comment bears very little relation to what I wrote.

    • Re:Useless Security Precaution (Score:4, Interesting)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Saturday May 01, 2021 @05:02AM (#61334958) Homepage Journal

      If only we had all known his number we too could have called him up and got dodgy £100 million PPE contracts or dodged some tax. Maybe lent him a fiver for leverage later.

  • Why would a think tank have his number to begin with and why would they need to publish it as well ?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Cederic ( 9623 )

      Because he was working for/with them, and the press release was to seek and encourage direct input.

      For all his faults Boris Johnson had a successful career separately to being a politician, and took a pay cut to become Prime Minister.

      • So what if he was working with them, lots of people work with others, that doesnt mean they include the name, address and phone for everybody they work with. Take github, there are almost no phone numbers on any commit on any project.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Cederic ( 9623 )

          Hmm, let me use small words.

          If you send out a note to the press to ask for folk to ring you, you need to add your phone num or they can not ring you.

          There, all in words of one syllable.

          • That doesn mean they need to publish it, pretty sure your doctor doesnt publish your phone number on the internet with your test resuls becaus eyou call them.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Cederic ( 9623 )

              Please call me.

              I won't give you my phone number, as you seem to think that's unnecessary. Call me anyway.

              • obviously cant read...what i actually wrote.

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by Cederic ( 9623 )

                  Maybe you didn't write what you thought you wrote. Let's see.

                  Why would a think tank have his number to begin with and why would they need to publish it as well ?

                  I answered why they had it, and why they published it. You responded with..

                  So what if he was working with them

                  So I clarified for you that

                  ask for folk to ring you, you need to add your phone num or they can not

                  Your frankly idiotic response was

                  That doesn mean they need to publish it

                  So I invited you to call me, without publishing my phone number, so that you could prove your point that it's possible to request calls without providing a telephone number.

                  You failed. I'm not sure I can put it more simply. I've already explained it in language a five year old can understand.

                  I've not only read what

                  • > So I invited you to call me, without publishing my phone number, so that you could prove your point that it's possible to request calls without providing a telephone number.
                    You are getting your facts wrong. Boris is free to publish his number for the reasons you give, but the article says they published it in reeturn in their own publications which was unnecssary.
  • I guess it can't have been much of a problem ... until now. Thanks a lot.

  • hostile states or criminal gangs could now have access to Mr Johnson's digits

    Oh, dear. One wouldn't want one's digits in the hands of criminals or hostile states. We don't know where they've been.

  • Who would call him, anyway? Not even marketers...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Cederic ( 9623 )

      Ah, you've missed the week of media hysteria that a billionaire exchanged text messages with the Prime Minister regarding implementation of a law passed by Parliament so that the billionaire could legally bring staff into the country to work on meeting the needs of a national healthcare emergency.

      The BBC have been bleating on about this for several days, outraged that a billionaire could contact the PM directly and expedite spending £20m of his own money to help the country.

      That press release s

  • Change the SIM card, done!

    Fucking morons.

  • Can someone just paste the number here? I've read the BBC article and didn't find it there. I am too lazy to do a Google search. Not that I will use it, I am not the man's hairdresser.

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