Eamon Ryan and his officials travelling to China for St Patrick’s Day have been issued with “burner phones“ and have been ordered to leave internet devices used for state business at home, the Business Post is reporting.
The security advice issued to the Minister for Environment and his departmental officials highlights the serious concerns of the Irish state with regard to potential Chinese surveillance.
The paper says that Minister Ryan and his officials were briefed in advance of the trip to China and were warned that they would likely be under surveillance at all times during their stay in the country.
Officials were warned not to bring any devices used for state busimness, as they would almost certainly be hacked, cloned or have software installed on them without their knowledge.
It is understood that the advice was issued to the department by the National CyberSecurity Centre (NCSC)
