In another embarrassing security breach, sensitive personal data of senior advisers to US President Donald Trump, including phone numbers, email addresses, and passwords, was reportedly accessible online, German news magazine Der Spiegel revealed on Wednesday.
The exposed information includes details of National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, some of which were still in use for social media, cloud storage, and location-tracking applications, according to the report.
The leaked data, reportedly available through commercial data-search services and hacked databases, included phone numbers that were linked to WhatsApp and Signal accounts used by Waltz and Gabbard, raising concerns over potential surveillance and cybersecurity risks.
Possible espionage risk
Der Spiegel further claimed that the exposed accounts left them vulnerable to spyware installations. It suggested that foreign intelligence agencies might have accessed classified conversations, particularly during a recent Signal group chat discussing US military plans for airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels on March 15.
The report added that Waltz had mistakenly included a journalist in the highly sensitive chat—The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg—who later published details of the conversation.
No official response
Der Spiegel stated that the three officials did not respond to its requests for comment. Meanwhile, the US National Security Council (NSC) claimed that the referenced accounts and passwords had been changed in 2019, downplaying concerns about the extent of the breach.
The incident follows a series of security lapses involving Trump administration officials, raising further questions about data protection protocols and the vulnerability of top US government figures to cyber threats.
