US hacking revelations
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh does not own a mobile phone or use personal email, giving New Delhi “no cause for concern” about new US hacking revelations, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Friday.
The Guardian newspaper reported on Friday that US spies eavesdropped on the phone conversations of 35 world leaders after White House, Pentagon and State Department officials gave them the numbers.
The new revelations, based on a classified document provided by intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, come amid fury from German Chancellor Angela Merkel whose communications were allegedly targeted.
Asked if Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was concerned, his spokesman replied: “The Prime Minister doesn’t use a mobile phone and he doesn’t have an email account.
“His office uses email, but he has no personal email… We have no information and no cause for concern,” he added.
In recent developments meanwhile, Germany summoned the US ambassador for the first time in living memory on Friday over suspicions that Washington bugged Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone, in the worst spat between the close allies in a decade. (AFP)