The TeleMessage platform, used by US government officials and a former Trump adviser, has been the victim of a massive hack. Messages from more than 60 officials from various US agencies were leaked online.
The TeleMessage platform, used by US government officials and a former Trump adviser, has been the victim of a massive hack. Messages from more than 60 officials from various US agencies were leaked online.
According to Reuters, the TeleMessage hack exposed the correspondence of dozens of government employees, including employees of the Secret Service, Customs and Border Protection, the State Department, FEMA and even one White House official. The archive of the data was provided by Distributed Denial of Secrets, an organization that publishes stolen documents in the public interest.
Although the hackers only received fragmented messages in the 24 hours or so leading up to May 4, they were able to intercept chats that appeared to be related to trips by senior U.S. officials, including to the Vatican and Jordan. Reuters confirmed the authenticity of some of the messages through their recipients, including a FEMA client and employees of a financial firm whose numbers were leaked.
This is a service that adapts messengers like Signal to the requirements of government archives, ensuring the preservation of official messages. The platform's popularity grew after Mike Walz was spotted using the app at a cabinet meeting on April 30. However, TeleMessage was disabled on May 5.
Smarsh, which owns TeleMessage, declined to comment. The White House said it was aware of the incident but did not provide details about how the platform was used. The Secret Service confirmed that “select employees” used the service and an internal review is underway. FEMA said it currently has no evidence of a leak of sensitive information.
This incident highlights the vulnerability of even officially sanctioned communications services used by government officials. Attempts to ensure digital security through archived messengers may be insufficient if not accompanied by adequate protection at all levels, from infrastructure to users.
Recall, the US recently experienced a serious information leak related to the Donald Trump administration. An American journalist accidentally got into a Signal chat room where top officials were discussing an attack on military targets in Yemen.
