Hackers Who Break Into Trump Adjutant Communications App Steal Data From A Number Of US Government Agencies

Trump's former national security adviser, Mike Waltz (photo; dock. wikipedia)

JAKARTA A hacker who managed to break into the communications services used by Trump's former national security adviser, Mike Waltz, is known to have intercepted messages from more US government officials than previously reported. This finding was revealed from a Reuters review of leaked data. This raises new concerns regarding data security within Trump's administration.

Reuters identified more than 60 government users who used the TeleMessage messaging platform based on data cache leaked by Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets), a US nonprofit that is known to archive hacking documents for the public interest. The data includes communications from disaster management officers, customs officials, US diplomatic staff, at least one White House staff, as well as several Secret Service members.

The messages come from a time period of about one day ending on May 4, although most of them are fragmented. One of the contents of the message confirmed by Reuters was from a aid applicant at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), while a financial services firm also confirmed that their messages that were leaked were authentic.

Highlighted Applications

The Message Tele was previously not widely known outside the government and finance, but in the media spotlight after a Reuters photo taken on April 30 showed Waltz opening the app which was a safe version of Signal while attending a cabinet meeting at the White House.

Although Reuters was unable to verify the entire content of the leaked data, a number of phone numbers were accurately linked to their owners. Reuters did not find the contents of the messages that were classified as very sensitive, but some chats were related to high-ranking officials' travel plans. One group in Signal entitled MOTUS ROME-VATICAN seems to discuss the logistics of the visit to the Vatican, while others mentioned official travel to Jordan.

It is not clear how each government agency uses TeleMessage. This service does allow the filing of messages from popular applications according to government governance rules. However, since May 5, TeleMessage has been turned off "because of caution." TeleMessage owner, Portland-based digital communication company Smarsh, Oregon, did not comment on this leak.

The White House stated that it was "knowing the cybersecurity incident in Smarsh," but did not elaborate on its use. The State Department and Homeland Security (DHS) which oversees FEMA, CISA, Secret Service, and US Customs also did not respond.

FEMA stated it had no evidence that their data was compromised, but did not respond further after being sent a copy of their leaked internal message. A US Customs spokesman reiterated earlier's statement that they had deactivated the Message Tele and were investigating the hack.

Intelligence Risk From Metadata

Government contract data shows that the US State Department, DHS, and CDC have collaborated with TeleMessage in recent years. The CDC claimed to have tested this app in 2024, but ultimately did not use it because it did not meet archival management needs.

A week after the hacking incident, CISA's US government cyber defense agency urged all users to stop using the product, unless there is an official mitigation guide from Smarsh.

According to Jake Williams, a former cyber specialist at the National Security Agency (NSA), although the contents of the message seem harmless, metadata-like who talks to who and when, has high intelligence value. "Even if you don't get the message content, the metadata is already a high-end intelligence access," Williams said, now serves as Vice President of R&D at cybersecurity firm Hunter Strategy.

Mike Waltz's Controversy History

Previously, Waltz also drew public criticism for accidentally adding a journalist to the Signal group used to discuss airstrikes in Yemen in real-time with Trump's cabinet officials. Shortly after the incident, Waltz was removed from office, although he remained in government. President Trump later announced that Waltz would be nominated as US Ambassador to the next United Nations.

Until now, there has been no official explanation of how Waltz used TeleMessage, and neither he nor the White House have responded to questions from the media.