President-elect Donald Trump says that “no computer is safe” when it comes to keeping information private, expressing new skepticism about the security of online communications his administration is likely to use for everything from day-to-day planning to international relations.
Trump rarely uses email or computers, despite his frequent tweeting.
“You know, if you have something really important, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old-fashioned way. Because I’ll tell you what: No computer is safe,” Trump told reporters during his annual New Year’s Eve bash. “I don’t care what they say,” AP reported.
Trump has repeatedly cast aside allegations by US intelligence agencies that Russia tried to influence the presidential election through hacking.
President Barack Obama earlier this week ordered sanctions on Russian spy agencies, closed two Russian compounds and expelled 35 diplomats the US said were really spies. The Russian government has denied the allegations.
Trump, who has said that he plans to meet with intelligence officials next week to learn more about the allegations, said he wants US officials “to be sure because it’s a pretty serious charge”.
He pointed to intelligence failures over the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq before the US invasion and declared himself an expert in the area.
“I know a lot about hacking. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove, so it could be somebody else,” he said.
He added, cryptically, that he also knows “things that other people don’t know. And so they cannot be sure of the situation”.
Before he went golfing on Saturday, Trump tweeted an unusual New Year’s message to friends and foes: “Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don’t know what to do. Love!”
With the arrival of 2017, another New Year’s message moved on Trump’s Twitter account at about midnight.
This one was decidedly more upbeat, addressed to all Americans, and including an abbreviation for his campaign slogan: Make America Great Again.
“To all Americans- HappyNewYear & many blessings to you all! Looking forward to a wonderful & prosperous 2017 as we work together to #MAGA.”
