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submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by Vittelius@feddit.org to c/news@lemmy.world

EDIT: Since I've posted this, an English language version of the article has been published. Here is the link. @Mods: please let me know if I should replace it in the in the URL field as well, I'm going to leave it as is for know,

Article both in German and behind a paywall. I've translated the most relevant parts:

Donald Trump's most important security advisors discussed a military strike via signal chat. Research by [the German magazine] SPIEGEL now shows that the problem is even bigger. [...] Private contact details of US President Donald Trump's most important security advisors are available on the internet. Research by SPIEGEL revealed mobile numbers, email addresses and, in some cases, passwords.

For the research, information from commercial personal search engines and customer data published online was used. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, US Intelligence Coordinator Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are demonstrably affected by the leaks.

Most of the publicly accessible numbers and email addresses are probably still being used by those affected. Some of them are linked to profiles on Instagram and LinkedIn, among others. They were used to create Dropbox accounts and profiles in apps that track running data. There are WhatsApp profiles for the respective phone numbers, and in some cases even Signal accounts. [...] It is therefore conceivable that foreign agents were reading along when Gabbard, Waltz and Hegseth discussed a military strike in a signals chat with others.

Original German textDonald Trumps wichtigste Sicherheitsberater diskutierten einen Militärschlag per Signal-Chat. SPIEGEL-Recherchen zeigen nun: Das Problem ist noch größer. Private Kontaktdaten der wichtigsten Sicherheitsberater von US-Präsident Donald Trump sind im Internet einsehbar. Recherchen des SPIEGEL förderten Mobilnummern, Mail-Adressen und teilweise Passwörter zutage.

Für die Recherche wurden Informationen aus kommerziellen Personen-Suchmaschinen sowie im Netz veröffentlichte Kundendaten genutzt. Betroffen von den Leaks sind nachweislich der Nationale Sicherheitsberater Mike Waltz, US-Geheimdienstkoordinatorin Tulsi Gabbard und Verteidigungsminister Pete Hegseth.

Die meisten der öffentlich abrufbaren Nummern und Mail-Adressen werden von den Betroffenen wohl immer noch genutzt. Sie sind teilweise mit Profilen unter anderem bei Instagram und LinkedIn verbunden. Mit ihnen wurden Dropbox-Accounts und Profile in Apps angelegt, die Laufdaten tracken. Es finden sich zu den jeweiligen Telefonnummern WhatsApp-Profile, teilweise sogar Signal-Accounts. [...] Es ist daher denkbar, dass ausländische Agenten mitlasen, als Gabbard, Waltz und Hegseth in einem Signal-Chat mit anderen einen Militärschlag besprachen.

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[-] courageousstep@lemm.ee 188 points 4 months ago

So…not to be dramatic or anything, but this sounds really fucking bad.

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 69 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

They're human. All sorts of people have personal accounts compromised, they don’t need flak for that.

What’s bonkers is that they are using at least some of it, casually, for sensitive professional talk. If you are anyone close to this position, you do whatever the heck security tells you without question, and it’s not over public signal or Dropbox accounts.

An analogy is trying not to get sick. Sure, people try their best in their personal lives. No one is perfect. But you would act very different in, say, a CDC lab working on Ebola. This would be like someone walking out with a Petri dish splattered all over their suit, and shrugging when someone with an accent scrapes it off your suit. It just screams "I have no regard for this institution's protocol or the consequences."

…But it’s worse than that. Like, I cannot describe the billions spent on even slightly influencing or penetrating these people's spaces, and it turns out they are operating like your boomer grandparents, apparently ignoring the direct instructions of the largest security institution on the planet like they know better.

[-] Saleh@feddit.org 56 points 4 months ago

Maybe i am naive, but i would think that looking for compromises on personal accounts would be part of a security on-boarding process. Even if they don't discuss sensitive information on their personal accounts. If for instance a foreign agent gets to read them sexting their affairs that creates quite some blackmail material.

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 18 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Yes of course. Trying to dig up people's skeletons before spies do has been happening way before the internet, and I would have assumed the government would have tried to “sweep” their personal accounts for vulnerabilities.

But… well, there were some warning signs of resistance to this just after the election:

https://www.axios.com/2024/11/26/trump-transition-white-house

They don’t trust the institutions they run.

[-] adespoton@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 months ago

I think your Ebola analogy is apt. These are the people who killed USAID and foreign medical aid during the start of an Ebola outbreak, ignoring the pleas of the CDC. These are the people that appointed RFK Jr.

In other words, they put just as much care into not getting sick.

[-] drzoidberg@lemmy.world 55 points 4 months ago

Not to sound alarmist or anything, but this is quite possibly the worst thing in history for US intelligence, so far.

Just think, how many accounts do you reuse your password for? How many of those are 2fa? Now take all that, wrap it up in an alcoholic, and now you've got the opsec of a toddler.

[-] dryfter@lemm.ee 18 points 4 months ago

I would be very surprised if any of these idiots even know what 2FA is, let alone use it.

[-] Stanley_Pain@lemmy.dbzer0.com 27 points 4 months ago

An absolute gong show

[-] TwinTitans@lemmy.world 16 points 4 months ago

I’m hoping they can dig up more dirt on the Russian sympathy.

When you decide to start buying fertilizer from an enemy of the United States over a longtime ally and partner, this is all the red flags you need.

[-] Cornelius_Wangenheim@lemmy.world 14 points 4 months ago

Pretty much everyone has compromised accounts/passwords because websites keep getting hacked. You can go to haveibeenpwned.com and look up your own.

That said, it's also why you shouldn't be using the public Internet for classified information.

[-] SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 4 months ago

also why you should use good passwords and not reuse them

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[-] tisktisk@piefed.social 7 points 4 months ago

At what stage should we be at in terms of beginning to think about maybe starting to worry?

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[-] redwattlebird@lemmings.world 90 points 4 months ago
[-] kandoh@reddthat.com 36 points 4 months ago

👊🇺🇸🔥

[-] Stamau123@lemmy.world 17 points 4 months ago

Powerful start!

[-] pivot_root@lemmy.world 10 points 4 months ago

The only thing cleaner is his conscience /s

[-] Zippygutterslug@lemmy.world 30 points 4 months ago
[-] Vittelius@feddit.org 13 points 4 months ago

Thank you, I've added it to my post

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 28 points 4 months ago

Guys, I’m starting to wonder if trump and his cabinet are, y’know, outrageously fucking stupid.

[-] tisktisk@piefed.social 13 points 4 months ago

This level of stupid can only be intentional, tho right? Need to come up with some type of unprecedentedly stupid award before more new records are set quick!

[-] adespoton@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 months ago

Hegseth would never let someone else hold his beer.

[-] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 18 points 4 months ago

Imagine the new fascist American regime not even getting off the ground because the fascists are so incredibly incompetent

[-] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 months ago

Unfortunately, fascists don’t need to be competent to be effective. In fact, ignorance plus incompetence can be very dangerous.

Hitler Was Incompetent and Lazy—and His Nazi Government Was an Absolute Clown Show

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[-] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 17 points 4 months ago

Great job Senate. They knew they shouldn't have appointed these complete amateurs, but they were too afraid of being primaried by Trump lackeys.

[-] thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works 13 points 4 months ago

I’d love an anonymised list of the passwords used, out of sheer curiosity. Just how safe/smart are these people, that are entrusted with running the world’s (currently) most powerful nation?

How many “password1234” or “asdfghjkl” would we find?

[-] faberyayo@lemm.ee 12 points 4 months ago

Another day, another woopsie doopsie.

[-] maniajack@lemmy.world 10 points 4 months ago
[-] Olhonestjim@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago

Well don't announce it. Change them.

[-] demizerone@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago

Buttery males is why we are here. Donald love buttery males!

[-] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 5 points 4 months ago

Merit based hires

[-] griff@lemmings.world 5 points 4 months ago

Keystone Kops of Kaos!!!

[-] lydon_feen@lemm.ee 4 points 4 months ago

Oh wow, these idiots are so unbelievably inept. Truly criminally incompetent.

The Official Trump Seal of Merit™

[-] 60d@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I thought this was Ameritocracy^TM^

[-] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

LOL! Peking and Moscow have been drooling since the 05 Nov 2024. The MSS and SVR are keeping themselves busy with their fucked up sock puppets.

this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2025
709 points (100.0% liked)

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