Wiretapping of former Turkish President Gül confirmed, science minister says

ANKARA

TÜBİTAK had left the line in crypto phones open to be bugged and wiretapping was possible through that security flaw, Işık said. AA Photo

Eavesdropping on former Turkish President Abdullah Gül has been confirmed and the issue has been taken to the prosecutor, Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri Işık said on Oct. 5, according to Anadolu Agency.

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) had left the line in crypto phones open to be bugged and wiretapping was possible through that security flaw, Işık said, claiming that TÜBİTAK experts who designed the encryption software were abettors of the “parallel state.”

He added that if encryption software writers in TÜBİTAK who wiretapped the telecommunications authority had not cooperated with collaborators in the police and the judiciary, eavesdropping would not have been possible.

Işık vowed that the government was taking measures against wiretapping by restructuring crypto phone encryption software and hardware so that the security flaw would be minimized.

As part of these measures, attention is being paid to not allow crypto phone security certificates to be awarded at the same place where the encryption is written, while the National Security Council will determine and order who will use crypto phones, the minister added.