White House Bans Personal Cell Phone Use in West Wing

White House Bans Personal Cell Phone Use in West Wing

Use of personal cellphones by White House staffers and guests will be banned in the West Wing, the Trump Administration said Thursday.

Use of personal cellphones by White House staffers and guests will be banned in the West Wing, the Trump Administration said Thursday. According to Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the ban will go into effect Monday.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly reportedly ordered the ban. Cybersecurity concerns have been cited as the motivation for banning personal cell phones, with some saying that there are too many devices connected to the campus wireless network and that government-issued devices are more secure.

"The security and integrity of the technology systems at the White House is a top priority for the Trump administration," Sanders said in a statement Thursday. "Therefore, starting next week the use of all personal devices for both guests and staff will no longer be allowed in the West Wing," she said.  

“Staff will be able to conduct business on their government-issued devices,” Sanders said. However, some staffers are unhappy with the decision, questioning how they will be able to stay in touch with their families during long workdays without the use of their personal devices. Mobile devices issued by the White House aren’t able to send text messages, making it more difficult for staff to be reached by family on busy days.

The ban was originally proposed last fall, led by Kelly after his personal phone was found to be compromised by hackers earlier in the year.

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

Featured

New Products

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”