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A court in London has heard that Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Prince Andrew, is one of more than 100 people who have received significant payouts in the wake of the News of the World phone hacking scandal.
Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York, demanded a public apology from the newspaper’s publisher News Corporation, after reportedly having had her phone’s voicemail intercepted since 2000 to feed the tabloid’s appetite for juicy gossip.
Others who have received damages include Hugh Grant, former Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston and spoon-bender Uri Geller according to The Guardian.
The story of the British media’s penchant for phone hacking dominated Britain’s news headlines during 2011 and 2012, and has resulted in both criminal investigations and a government inquiry.
With such a high profile given to the issue, there’s really no reason for anyone to have poorly-protected voicemail anymore. But in case you are still in doubt, here’s our guide on how phone hacking worked, and how to make sure you’re not a victim.
The story isn’t over yet, of course, with ongoing police investigations into not just the interception of mobile phone voicemail systems but also the hacking of public figures’ computers and email accounts using spyware Trojan horses.
Sarah Ferguson image from Shutterstock.
There is no way any hacker in the world can hack my voice mail. I have none. I never set it up on my cell phone. Too often we put convenience before security. We crave the latest mobile devices and aspire to use every connection to the world that we can. Then we stand aghast when we find out that somebody has procured private information from us.
There is life off (or almost off) the grid. If somebody truly wants your information, at least make them work terribly hard for it and get very little in return.
In my opinion these operations will increase over time and there is no way to stop these attempts.