Signal is viewed as one of the most secure messaging apps available to the public, but both experts and lawmakers are sharing their concerns about its use by top Trump administration officials.
Several cabinet secretaries, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and the national security advisor Mike Waltz were discussing their plans to strike Yemen in a group chat on the app and accidentally added a journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, to the conversation. Goldberg revealed in a first-hand account on Monday that “precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing” was included in the chat.
The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief said the use of the app displayed “shocking recklessness.”
Miguel Fornés, a cybersecurity expert at the cybersecurity company Surfshark, argued that the incident is a wake-up call for any organisation handling sensitive information.
“Protocols of handling critical information exist to prevent such breaches,” Fornés said in a statement shared with The Independent. “Most companies and government agencies have reliable security policies designed to manage sensitive documents and ensure secure communication among involved parties.”
“Typically, only approved devices within an authorized network are permitted to perform actions such as viewing documents, joining a chat, or, in this case, even being invited to a chat,” he added. “All information across a company must be disclosed following principles of least privilege and need to know. This restricts permissions, minimizes access, and limits the exposure of sensitive information to only those who absolutely require it.”
Fornés argued that “Signal offers encrypted messaging, but it does not provide the same level of security as government telecommunications systems.”
“If a journalist is accidentally added to such a private chat, imagine how spies or malicious actors can bypass this to exploit the vulnerability, potentially accessing sensitive information and compromising national security,” said Fornés. “This incident exemplifies a full-fledged case of a data leak of top-secret information.”
Mark Montgomery, the senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, agreed, telling Politico, “I guess Signal is a few steps above leaving a copy of your war plan at the Chinese Embassy — but it’s far below the standards required for discussing any elements of a war plan.”
Signal has increased in popularity in Washington following the revelation of a large-scale breach connected to the Chinese government of U.S. telecommunications networks, allowing hackers to get hold of American cell phone records and to spy on the conversations of top politicians, such as President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
U.S. officials have said that Americans should use apps like Signal as an extra layer of security. The app has significant privacy features and collects minimal amounts of data, in addition to having default settings of encrypting all messages and calls. The app also deletes all messages from a conversation within a certain time frame. However, experts say that it shouldn’t be used by government officials instead of internal government systems.
A former White House official told Politico that the use of Signal to discuss war plans was “unbelievable.”
“These guys all have traveling security details to set up secure comms for them, wherever they are,” the official added, noting that those taking part in the group chat were likely using their personal devices, as most often, Signal cannot be downloaded to government devices.
“Their personal phones are all hackable, and it’s highly likely that foreign intelligence services are sitting on their phones watching them type the s*** out,” the former White House official told Politico.
