The authorities carrying out the Covid inquiry have not been able to access the WhatsApp messages that United Kingdom former prime minister Boris Johnson exchanged as he has forgotten the password of his old mobile phone.
As per media reports, Johnson is not being able to recall the passcode which was set to unlock the device, which is believed to contain crucial Covid-era communications which he had with ministers. The former prime minister stopped using his old mobile phone in May 2021.
Johnson is unable to recall the passcode “with 100 per cent confidence”, according to a report published by The Times. The spokesman of the ex-Tory leader did not refute the report of him not being able to recall the code.
The experts are concerned that any attempts made to unlock the iPhone may lead to the device getting disabled and its data getting erased which included important WhatsApp messages from the pandemic, the report stated.
However, Covid bereaved campaigners have called the idea a “complete joke”, appealing to Johnson to work along with security officials to retrieve the information.
Johnson’s old mobile known as “Phone 1” in Whitehall has emerged as a thorny issue ever since multiple disputes blew up between his camp and that of Rishi Sunak’s government earlier this year.
The former prime minister had to turn off the device and use a new mobile after a security breach took place. It was discovered that Johnson’s number was freely available online for 15 years.
Breakthrough in Johnson’s mobile saga
An ally of Johnson has claimed that the government of Sunak has finally recovered the passcode to unlock the mobile phone, as per a report published by The Independent.
Allies have stated that it is incorrect to say that Johnson doesn’t remember his own passcode, because he was just not entirely sure about them.
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Johnson’s ally said, “It is not true that Boris does not remember his PIN number, it is just that he does not have 100 per cent confidence he remembers it. Separately, the government has found its own version of the PIN.”
Speaking about the possible technical difficulties in accessing the messages, Norwegian cybersecurity company Promon Andrew Whaley said: “This is a pretty lame excuse. Provided Boris’s WhatsApp is backed up, accessing the data would take minutes. As this is a diplomatic phone, the security measures may very well be different, but even still, It’s not an impossible task by any means.”
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