Trump officials embarrassed again as report reveals trove of sensitive info available online

Washington DC - Private data of top members of President Donald Trump's administration can be accessed online, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Wednesday, adding to the fallout from embarrassing revelations of security slips by his administration.

A report by German newspaper Der Spiegel found sensitive information belonging to National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth can be accessed online.
A report by German newspaper Der Spiegel found sensitive information belonging to National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth can be accessed online.  © Collage: REUTERS

Phone numbers, email addresses, and in some cases passwords used by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth can be found via commercial data-search services and hacked data dumped online, the outlet said.

The phone numbers and email addresses – mostly current – were in some cases used for Instagram and LinkedIn profiles, cloud-storage service Dropbox, and apps that track a user's location.

The Gabbard and Waltz numbers were reportedly linked to accounts on messaging services WhatsApp and Signal.

Trump warns Iran faces "bad, bad things" if nuclear deal is not reached
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Der Spiegel said that left them exposed to having spyware installed on their devices.

It said it was even possible foreign agents were spying during the episode that has landed the trio in hot water: a recent Signal group chat on top-secret US plans for air strikes on Yemen's on March 15, which killed dozens of civilians.

Waltz inadvertently included a journalist in the chat, The Atlantic magazine's Jeffrey Goldberg.

The magazine published details of the conversation Wednesday and said the three officials had not responded to its requests for comment.

The National Security Council claimed the Waltz accounts and passwords referenced by Der Spiegel had all been changed in 2019.

Cover photo: Collage: REUTERS

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