Trump advisers' private data leak sparks security fears
Private data belonging to key advisers of U.S. President Donald Trump, including phone numbers and email addresses, are available on the internet, according to the magazine "Spiegel". German media warn that this leak could pose a serious threat to national security.
What do you need to know?
- The private data of advisers to U.S. President Donald Trump has been shared on the internet - revealed "Spiegel".
- The individuals whose data were leaked include, among others, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth.
- Publicly available data could be used by hostile intelligence services to hack the communication of these individuals.
What data from the U.S. leaked?
The German magazine "Spiegel" reported that the private contact data of key advisers to U.S. President Donald Trump, including mobile phone numbers and email addresses, are available online. In some cases, passwords were also disclosed.
Data of Trump's advisers leaked with serious consequences
Contact data belonging to Gabbard, Hegseth, and Waltz, analysed by "Spiegel", were found partly in commercial databases and partly in so-called password leaks. According to the article, the latter are not uncommon on the internet.
The portal of the German weekly noted that most publicly available numbers and email addresses are likely still in use. Some of them are linked to profiles on Instagram and LinkedIn. This means that if you know the phone numbers, you can also find profiles on WhatsApp and sometimes even accounts on the Signal messenger.
As highlighted by the German magazine, the data leak could pose a serious threat to the national security of the U.S. Hostile intelligence services could use publicly available data to hack these individuals' communications by infecting their devices with spyware.
"Spiegel" did not disclose the data
To protect the privacy of American politicians, "Spiegel" did not publish the phone numbers, email addresses, or any found passwords.
The editorial team informed Gabbard, Hegseth, and Waltz of the results of the journalistic investigation. "Spiegel" emphasises that no tests were conducted to see if the passwords to email accounts are still functional.
