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Silent Circle

Only 12% believe their mobile calls are private, with 54% believing the government could be eavesdropping

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By Ishbel Macleod, PR and social media consultant

June 16, 2014 | 2 min read

Only a tenth (12 per cent) of people in the UK believe that calls on a mobile phone and texts are private, research from Silent Circle has found following Vodafone revealing secret wires that allow state surveillance.

The research of 1,000 employed Brits found that over half (54 per cent) believe ‘anyone with the right equipment’ has the ability to listen in on their mobile calls and texts.

Respondents named the government as the group most likely to have the ability to listen in on calls and texts (54 per cent), while 44 per cent believe the police can eavesdrop and a third think mobile phone providers could listen in.

Criminals (28 per cent) and jealous spouses (17 per cent) also raise suspicions for eavesdropping.

“What our study confirms is that the wider working population of the UK are aware of the ever-increasing threats to the data we transmit via mobile technology. They know of eavesdropping capabilities, but in many ways are consigned to the abuse – not just from government but from criminal scavengers and corporate competition,” said Vic Hyder, revenue chief for Silent Circle.

While 61 per cent of respondents would like to see tougher jail sentences for snoopers and eavesdroppers, a fifth (20 per cent) believe that it’s okay to listen in on people’s calls.

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