US National Security Official Caught Using 'Less-Secure Signal App Knockoff' (theguardian.com)
- Reference: 0177275531
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/05/03/0427226/us-national-security-official-caught-using-less-secure-signal-app-knockoff
- Source link: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/02/trump-cabinet-signal-chat-app
A recent photo of a high-level cabinet meeting caught Waltz using a "less-secure Signal app knockoff," [2]reports the Guardian :
> The chat app Waltz was using appears to be a modified version of Signal called TM SGNL, made by a company that copies messaging apps but adds an ability to retain messages and archive them. The White House officials may be using the modified Signal in order to comply with the legal requirement that presidential records be preserved... That function suggests the end-to-end encryption that makes Signal trusted for sharing private communications is possibly "not maintained, because the messages can be later retrieved after being stored somewhere else", according [3]to 404 Media .
Thursday the national security adviser was removed from his position, the article points out.
He was instead named America's ambassador to the United Nations.
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz01lepk3y8o
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/02/trump-cabinet-signal-chat-app
[3] https://www.404media.co/mike-waltz-accidentally-reveals-obscure-app-the-government-is-using-to-archive-signal-messages/
Gee I wonder why (Score:3)
They don’t want to use approved government systems with all those pesky records laws.
Republicans aren’t sending their best and brightest.
Re:Gee I wonder why (Score:4, Insightful)
They've spent at least the past half-century chasing anyone who is bright out of their circle. The result is concentrated idiocy. The same can be said of their voters - concentrated, curated, weaponized idiocy. These people don't know how to build, only destroy. Toddlers on a tantrum. Problem is someone gave them guns and nukes.
Re:Gee I wonder why (Score:4, Interesting)
> They don’t want to use approved government systems with all those pesky records laws.
> Republicans aren’t sending their best and brightest.
Additionally, remember their bitching about Hillary Clinton's e-mail server? They're running in the, "Every accusation is a confession," model.
Re: (Score:2)
More accurately it's "everything bad you accuse us of doing we feel Democrats have already done so we are absolutely justified in doing 10x worse"
Then just add a complete lack of shamelessness and a leader who promises swift revenge and you have yourself a good ol' authoritarian party takeover.
Re: (Score:2)
> They don’t want to use approved government systems with all those pesky records laws.
It is right there in TFS! They are using TM SGNL because of the data retention rules . Signal is open source , or at least the protocol is, allowing people to make compatible apps. And because the law requires all government communications to be archived, they need to use a version that does this. The official signal app does not. Signal show be seen as a replacement for email, not for classified discussion.
Waltz probably should not be taking the fall for Signalgate. It was Hegseth who cho
Buttery males! (Score:3)
Yeah yeah I know there's nothing more useless than pointing out hypocrisy in the right wing. They simply are not capable of feeling the emotion.
Fun fact when Trump was President last time the number of American intelligence agents captured and killed skyrocketed. Meanwhile he was giving out classified documents like party favors at his golf course.
And we still gave him another term. Christ were on track to give him a third term. Not like anyone will stop him they didn't last time
Re: (Score:2)
> when Trump was President last time the number of American intelligence agents captured and killed skyrocketed.
Even right now reports are the [1]Houthi's have shot down 7 Predator drones in the past 6 weeks [npr.org]
[1] https://www.npr.org/2025/04/25/nx-s1-5377192/houthis-reaper-drones-us-military-yemen
Re: (Score:2)
This is simplistic way to look at the problem. US intelligence operations have been plagued by bureaucracy. The field officers are primary evaluated on their primary task of developing the assets and gathering intelligence. Counterintelligence work is often overlook. What is more alarming is not the number of informants captured or killed but the number of informants turned double-agents. CIA, like the rest of US government, is growing more and more bureaucratic and therefore more rigid and not being able t
Re: (Score:2)
You must be willfully ignoring high profile news then. It was reported on by basically everyone, even including news agencies that are acting as propaganda wings of the Republicans and Trump.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm surprised that his ATSC converter-box still works.