Trump officials’ private data is accessible online, says German magazine Der Spiegel
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Private data used by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz (left) and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth can be found via commercial data-search services.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BERLIN - Private data of top security advisers to US President Donald Trump can be accessed online, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on March 26, adding to the fallout from embarrassing revelations of security slips by his administration.
Cell phone numbers, e-mail addresses and in some cases passwords used by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth can be found via commercial data-search services and hacked data dumped online, it said.
The phone numbers and e-mail addresses – mostly current – were in some cases used for Instagram and LinkedIn profiles, cloud-storage service Dropbox, and apps that track a user’s location.
The Gabbard and Waltz numbers were reportedly linked to accounts on messaging services WhatsApp and Signal.
Der Spiegel said that left them exposed to having spyware installed on their devices.
It said it was even possible foreign agents were spying during the episode that has landed the trio in hot water: A recent Signal group chat on top-secret US plans for air strikes
Mr Waltz inadvertently included a journalist in the chat, The Atlantic magazine’s Jeffrey Goldberg.
The magazine published details of the conversation
Der Spiegel said the three officials had not responded to its requests for comment.
The National Security Council said the Waltz accounts and passwords referenced by the German magazine had all been changed in 2019. AFP
