Signalgate: Pete Hegseth’s problematic passion for groupchats
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Summary
Following the accidental inclusion of The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief in a Signal group chat between US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior officials, it has now emerged that Hegseth used his personal Signal account to discuss military plans regarding a strike in Yemen with a non-official group.
This second group included his wife and some of his personal friends, and it is claimed that he shared “essentially the same” information as in the previous chat.
Questions have been raised about Hegseth’s cybersecurity, given that he reportedly has an accessible digital presence, and about the security of the information shared on Signal.
The NSA has warned that the app is not approved for nonpublic unclassified information, with concerns over Russian phishing campaigns and potential vulnerabilities in Signal’s encryption.
Various figures are calling for Hegseth to lose his job, with watchdog organisations suing the other officials involved.