Malcolm Turnbull confirms he uses Wickr, WhatsApp instead of unsecure SMS technology
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed he uses a secret messaging app, saying unsolicited texts sent to federal MPs prove SMS technology is not secure.
Several Government MPs yesterday received unsolicited messages from people they did not know because they had their Apple iMessage accounts connected to publicly available email addresses.
MPs have told the ABC they believed the messages were sent as part of a campaign against the Government's push to force telecommunications companies to hold on to their customers' data for longer.
Mr Turnbull said he used other applications to send messages because SMSing was an unsecure form of communication.
"Probably the least secure form of messaging is SMS or text messaging because the messages are not encrypted in transit and they're not encrypted on the telco's server," he said.
"And of course they [the messages] reside there even after they've been deleted for varying periods.
"I use Wickr as an application. I use a number of others. I use WhatsApp ... because they're superior over-the-top messaging platforms.
"You know, millions of people do, hundreds of millions of people use over-the-top applications.
"When I say over the top, what I mean is they're travelling over the internet."
Mr Turnbull said MPs should be alert to security, but stressed he did not consider what happened to some of his colleagues yesterday as hacking.
"I don't give technical advice, I provide a bit of background. I'm not the tech butler, I'm the Communications Minister, but I think it's important to be aware of security," he said.
"That [connecting a publicly available email address to iMessage] may get you a lot of messages you weren't welcoming or didn't anticipate, but it doesn't involve hacking."
