Top security advisers to US President Donald Trump have their private data accessible online, according to a report by German news magazine Der Spiegel. The information was found through commercial data-search services and hacked data dumped online, and includes details such as mobile phone numbers, email addresses, and passwords of national security adviser Mike Waltz, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, and director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. The revelations add to the fallout from the officials’ use of a Signal group chat to plan airstrikes on Yemen, potentially threatening the safety of US servicemen and women. Trump defended Hegseth, stating that he had nothing to do with the scandal and calling it a “witch-hunt.” The data-search services were able to find Hegseth’s mobile number and email address through a commercial provider, and even some passwords associated with the email address. The Gabbard and Waltz numbers were linked to accounts on messaging services WhatsApp and Signal, leaving them vulnerable to having spyware installed on their devices. Foreign agents may have been spying on the recent Signal group chat, which included a journalist, the Atlantic magazine’s Jeffrey Goldberg. The Gabbard and Waltz accounts and passwords were reportedly changed in 2019, according to the national security council.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/27/donald-trump-us-signal-scandal-passwords