In a troubling new development for the Trump administration, the private contact information of several top U.S. national security officials—including phone numbers, emails, and in some cases, passwords—has reportedly been discovered online.
The German magazine Der Spiegel revealed on Wednesday that this data was uncovered through open-source tools and search engines, raising fresh questions about cybersecurity practices at the highest levels of American defense and intelligence.
Leaked data linked to messaging apps and cloud services
According to Der Spiegel, the officials affected include National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Their data, which appears to still be in use in many cases, was allegedly tied to online profiles and services such as Instagram, LinkedIn, Dropbox, and messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal.
The leak comes on the heels of a separate scandal in which Waltz mistakenly included a journalist from The Atlantic in a private Signal group discussing U.S. military plans to strike Houthi rebels in Yemen. As reported by Digi24, the group included other senior officials, including Gabbard and Hegseth, and exchanged sensitive information just days before the March 15 airstrikes.
While a National Security Council spokesperson downplayed the breach, noting that “the passwords and accounts mentioned were changed before Mike Waltz entered Congress in 2019,” the report indicates that many of the leaked credentials remain linked to current digital identities.
Concerns over espionage and compromised communications
Cybersecurity analysts warn that foreign intelligence agencies could exploit such publicly available data to compromise devices, plant spyware, or surveil internal communications. Der Spiegel even suggests that foreign spies may have intercepted Signal messages exchanged between Waltz, Gabbard, and Hegseth during deliberations about the Yemen strike.
Though none of the officials have responded publicly to the report, the disclosure compounds existing pressure on the administration following a series of high-profile security missteps. Critics argue the incident demonstrates a concerning level of negligence regarding information security, particularly given the seniority and strategic importance of the individuals involved.
With international tensions on the rise and cyber warfare a growing threat, the leak underscores how vulnerable even the most protected officials can be when basic digital hygiene is ignored.
