The White House thinks John Kelly's personal phone was likely compromised

(Image credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 6 October 2017

The White House's IT department believes that Chief of Staff John Kelly's personal cellphone was compromised at some point before the summer, three government officials told Politico.

Over the summer, Kelly asked the department to take a look at his phone, because it hadn't been working right for several months and couldn't update software, Politico reports. After investigating further, workers determined the phone had been compromised at some point, and Kelly couldn't use it any more. They aren't sure when or where his phone was when it became compromised, or if any data has been accessed by hackers. There's also the concern that a hacker could have gained complete access to the phone, including the camera and microphone.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.