The Federal Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt (Flemish liberal) has announced that ministers and top civil servants are to be issued with secure smartphones. Belgian diplomats will also be issued with the special smartphones.
The devices should ensure that sensitive information cannot be intercepted by other countries or criminal organisations. The technology that makes the smartphones secure was developed entirely here in Belgium by the new Belgian Secure Communications (BSC) agency. The agency is part of the Federal Justice Department.
In 2007, the Defence Department developed BINII (Belgian Intelligence Network Information Infrastructure), a secure communication platform that could be used for sharing sensitive and classified information. According to the Federal Justice Minister this platform is now outdated and no longer adapted to new technology. Mr Van Tigchelt cites the example of the 2019 economic mission to China during which 135 hacking attempts per hour were detected on delegation members' mobile phones. The new system does not connect to internet access points or to servers that are not managed inhouse.
In addition to secure laptops and smartphone, ministers, diplomats and top civil servants will also be issued will a list of secret and secure locations from which classified video conferences can be held. Ministers will receive their devices next week.