China said to eavesdrop phones of military officers

The Ministry of National Defense has had to halt the use of thousands of mobile phones after they were found to have been listened in on by China, it was reported yesterday.

The ministry recently ordered the suspension of a batch of mobile phones with the numbers 0932-498-xxxx, a Chinese-language newspaper reported. The phones had been used by senior officers, it said.

Minister of National Defense Wu Shih-wen (伍世文) declined to comment on the report when it was raised in the legislature.

The paper said the ministry purchased the French-made Sagem mobile phones at a price of NT$10,000 each for officers a few years ago. Due to a mistake in administrative procedures, all the phone numbers were sequential and the name list was printed in the phone book, it said.