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Prank text messages sent to MPs phones via their public emails do not constitute hacking, Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull says.
Ministers, including Attorney-General George Brandis and Environment Minister Greg Hunt, have been targeted by online activists campaigning against broader metadata storage laws and in Mr Hunt's case – for action on climate change. In one instance, Mr Hunt replied, asking "sorry who is this?"
Other MPs who have linked their public parliamentary email accounts to their iMessage accounts are thought to have also been targeted, with one source telling Fairfax Media the problem was widespread on Monday.
MPs have been told to disable their emails and mobile numbers from Apple's iMessage service. The Department of Parliamentary Services says it has fielded some enquiries to its IT help desk about how to disable emails from iMessage "as a precautionary measure".
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull was asked about the issue as he left a breakfast marking International Women's Day at Parliament House on Wednesday.
He said while the spam messages might be unwelcome, members of the public exploiting an MP's use of their public email account did not constitute hacking.
"That may get you a lot of messages you weren't welcoming or didn't anticipate but it doesn't involve hacking," he said.
Mr Turnbull described SMS communication as the "least secure form of messaging" and said he used a number of "over the top" applications that encrypt messages.
"I use Wickr as an application, I use a number of others, I use WhatsApp, because they're superior over the top messaging platforms; hundreds of millions of people do," he said.
It has been reported that Mr Turnbull has been using Wickr with Ministers Greg Hunt and Scott Morrison to discuss leadership issues. Mr Turnbull did not directly respond when asked if he uses messaging apps to communicate with his colleagues about the leadership.
But he pleaded for calm on the issue, saying the focus should be on the re-election of the Liberal government in New South Wales, which goes to the polls at the end of the month.
"There are no leadership concerns in the party, all is calm in the Liberal party," Mr Turnbull said.
"I know everyone's interested in personalities and so forth there, but the big issue is Mike Baird, so calm, everyone should be zen, be zen," he urged reporters.
"The only election of vital concern to us in the next few weeks is the New South Wales state election.
