Although Russia has yet to comment on the allegation, New York Post reports that the agents, suspected of working at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin, may have gained access to top-secret negotiations with key international allies and personal messages between Truss and her future Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng.
Russian agents may have hacked former British Prime Minister Liz Truss’ personal phone during her summer leadership challenge that led to her taking the role of prime minister.
Although Russia has yet to comment on the allegation, New York Post reports that the agents, suspected of working at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin, may have gained access to top-secret negotiations with key international allies and personal messages between Truss and her future Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng.
The Mail reported on Sunday that private message between Liz Truss, and international foreign ministers, relating to the war in Ukraine during her time as Foreign Secretary, fell into the hands of cyber-spies suspected of working for the Kremlin.
Some of those messages, it says, included "detailed discussions about arms shipments." The report, citing unnamed security service sources, claims the hacking incident was discovered during Truss' successful Conservative Party leadership campaign.
However, the report claimed that details of the phone hacking were "suppressed by Boris Johnson, who was Prime Minister at the time, and the Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the United Kingdom Government told Fox News Digital that while the government does not comment on individual security arrangements, “The Government has robust systems in place to protect against cyber threats,” including “regular security briefings for ministers and advice on protecting their personal data.”
The government allegedly knew of the hack during the summer, but then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case suppressed details about the hack, the Daily Mail reports.
Truss served as the Foreign Secretary prior to taking over as prime minister. She served as a primary point of contact for the U.K.’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, famously blaming Putin directly for the emerging global energy and food crises.
There are currently no further details into the mechanism of compromise of the phone in question. However, the newspaper report suggests that this could have been a Pegasus attack, the paper reported.
"The power of phone hacking software Pegasus must never be underestimated as its sheer presence on a target phone can be terrifyingly invasive. Its quiet, under-the-radar delivery method enables it to monitor the vast majority of a device, and those targeted will have no idea of its residence," Jake Moore, global cybersecurity advisor for ESET, said.
"High profile people such as politicians are often targeted, so it is extremely important they keep their personal phone number private and to change it immediately if ever leaked. It is also imperative that they keep their phones up to date and patched with the latest security updates to reduce the chance of such attacks."
Opposition parties are demanding an investigation into the compromise itself, the leak, and the news blackout imposed at the time.