Vodafone reveals existence of secret wires that allow state surveillance

Vodafone revealed secret wires for eavesdropping by security agencies. Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty Images

One of the world’s largest mobile phone groups revealed the existence of secret wires that allow government agencies to listen to all conversations on its networks, saying they are widely used in some of the 29 countries in which it operates in Europe and beyond. It broke its silence on in order to push back against the increasingly widespread use of phone and broadband networks to spy on citizens.