The German magazine Spiegel has discovered in its own investigation that the personal contact details of several high-ranking advisors to former U.S. President Donald Trump are freely available on the internet.
According to the publication, the leaked information includes mobile phone numbers, email addresses, and even partial passwords. In particular, the leak affected National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Journalists analyzed commercial and client databases as well as leaked passwords and found that most of the numbers and addresses remain valid. Many of them are linked to social media accounts such as Instagram and LinkedIn and are also used for access to cloud storage services and various applications. Moreover, the discovered phone numbers are associated with accounts in the messaging apps WhatsApp and Signal, though there is no confirmation that the politicians themselves used these specific profiles.
Spiegel notes that the discovered vulnerabilities pose a potential threat to U.S. national security. The availability of such data could allow foreign intelligence agencies to install spyware on officials’ devices.
Earlier this week, Atlantic magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg reported that he received a message on Signal and was added to a chat named “Houthis PC Tight Group.” The discussion involved accounts registered under the names of U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, and White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. The chat reportedly focused on the possibility of launching strikes against the Yemeni group Ansar Allah.
However, the Pentagon assured that no classified information was shared in this chat.
