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A German newspaper, Der Spiegel, claims to have accessed personal data and contact information— including passwords—of several top U.S. security officials, such as Defense Secretary and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth.
Reporters from Der Spiegel utilized commercially available people-search engines and "hacked customer data" that had been previously leaked online to uncover this information.
In addition to Hegseth, the newspaper reported that the exposed data included details about National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard.
The discovery followed the recent American security breach dubbed "Signalgate." Earlier this month, The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently included in a Signal group chat where top officials were discussing U.S. bombing plans in Yemen. Signal is an encrypted messaging app accessible to the public.
On March 15, the same day of the conversation, airstrikes were carried out on Houthi targets, resulting in 53 fatalities, including children. Goldberg reported the security breach nearly ten days later, on Monday.
Der Spiegel’s reporters tracked down personal emails, cell phone numbers, and publicly accessible Signal account telephone numbers linked to Gabbard and Waltz. Some of this data remains active, the newspaper noted.
It also warned that "hostile intelligence services" could exploit publicly available data to compromise officials’ communications by installing spyware on their devices.
The newspaper suggested it was "conceivable" that foreign agents had access to the Signal chat group where Gabbard, Waltz, and Hegseth discussed the military strike, as their communications had already been compromised.
The Independent attempted to reach the three officials named in Der Spiegel’s report for comment, but none responded before publication.
The Trump administration has downplayed the breach of Yemen bombing plans, asserting that the information was not classified. President Donald Trump dismissed the incident, calling it "not a big deal."
However, retired U.S. Army General Barry McCaffery issued a statement on social media Monday, warning that sharing sensitive military details via Signal—a publicly available and hackable messaging app—could expose information to foreign intelligence, endangering lives.
McCaffery stressed that pending U.S. military operations are among the "most sensitive" intelligence matters, emphasizing the risks to Air Force and Navy personnel involved in the strikes.
He also noted that a military official using an unsecured app to communicate such information would typically face a court-martial.
Meanwhile, the nonpartisan watchdog group American Oversight has filed a lawsuit against several officials involved in the Yemen Signal chat. The organization alleges that Trump administration officials deliberately avoided secure communication systems to circumvent federal record-keeping requirements.
According to the lawsuit, Signal is neither a secure platform nor an "authorized system for preserving federal records," as its messages can be deleted, failing to meet official documentation standards.
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