Michael Waltz faces himself in a problem with the White House when he unintentionally added a journalist, the National Security Adviser, unintentionally to a sensitive conversation on Signal, a commercial correspondence application.
Now, while leaving this job, he raised a new set of questions about the White House’s use of encrypted application. A picture of him looking at his phone on Wednesday during the cabinet meeting shows that he is communicating with his colleagues – including the Foreign Minister and Director of National Intelligence – using a platform designed by an Israeli company that originally collects and stores signal messages.
This discovery came to the new system when a Reuters photographer stood on the shoulder of Mr. Walz left, a picture of him examining his phone.
He was not using the privacy screen, and when it was enlarged, the image displays a list of messages and calls from many senior officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Steve Witkoff, a special envoy negotiating on three fronts: Israel-Hamas talks, and increasing dance with Vladimir V. Putin around Aplet about Kureane. Foreign Minister Marco Rubio and Toulcy Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, are also included in his chat list.
Although the application that was seen by Mr. Waltz is used on Wednesday, the signal is similar, in fact a different platform from a company that announces it as a way to archive messages for the purposes of saving records. This is very important, because one of the anxiety that appeared when senior officials used the app is whether it complies with the rules for keeping federal records.
One of the indication benefits is that it is encrypted and can be set to delete messages automatically. But although this is an advantage for users looking for safe contacts, it is a problem for national archives, as it seeks to keep records.
It is not clear whether Mr. Waltz has begun to use the alternative application when he became a national security adviser or after a non -profit monitoring group, American Deseright, to file a lawsuit against the government for its failure to comply with the registration laws using the signal.
Although the real version of the Signal gets fixed safety updates and the messages are kept encrypted until you reach the user’s phone, safety experts are wondering about the extent of insurance of the alternative application.
“This is incredibly stupid,” said Senator Ron Widen, Democrat in Oregon, a long -term member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “The government has no reason to use a counterfeit signal that raises clear concerns to combat equipment.”
Cipranian security experts said that the platform used by Mr. Waltz is known as the name TelemessgeWhich retains copies of messages, a way to comply with government rules. The screen in the image shows a request to check “TM SGNL PIN”. Time stamps indicate that the communications were modern like Sabah, the cabinet meeting.
TelemessgeIt was founded in Israel, which was purchased last year by Smarsh, a company based in Portland, Uri.
The TELEMESSAGE platform accepts the sent messages through the signal, picks them up and archive them.
Security experts said that the use of Telemessge raised a number of questions. Some have said that the company appeared in the past to direct information through Israel, which is famous for electronic espionage skills.
But the Smarsh representative said that data from American agents did not leave the United States. Tom Badgate, president of Smarsh’s Enverprise Business, said that the information collected has not been directed through any mechanism “could violate our data obligations to our customers.”
Mr. Padgett also said that the information was not decoded while collecting for the purposes of saving records or moving to its final archive. Security experts said that the more information is canceled, the more security weaknesses can be provided. Mr. Badjett said: “We are not slipping.”
Smarsh representatives have faced a problem with the idea that their platform was a modified version of the signal application. They said that their platform simply allowed the financial institutions and governments to capture communications on the various channels to comply with the registration systems.
But cyber security officials said that the questions remain about how the medicine platform works, and what weaknesses that you can enter into the signal communications.
The signal is built on an open source icon, which allows other institutions to create its own version that uses the same encryption. But Signal Messenger, the company that manufactures and controls the application, does not support alternative versions and is trying to activate their use.
The use of Mr. Waltz was to extend I mentioned earlier by the publication of 404 media. According to the publication, the United States government contracted with Telemessge in December 2024 to archive WhatsApp messages. Smarsh representatives said they had worked with the federal government a decade ago, but they refused to discuss specific contracts.
It is not clear whether the United States government has scrutinized a dimension to determine how to treat messages and whether it may break or harm comprehensive security to indicate. The representatives of the National Security Council staff immediately did not respond to the comment requests. Smarsh representative said they allowed security audits.
Mr. Widan said that the US and the navy has developed safe communication tools that are compatible with the rules for saving records. He said that using the modified version of the signal is less safe.
“Trump and the national security team may also publish the American battle plans on X at this rate,” said Mr. Widan.
In response to photo reports, Stephen Cheung, the White House Communications Manager, said in A. Social media yet “This signal is an approved application that is downloaded on our government phones.”
As part of the lawsuit filed by the American censorship, government officials Provide data Saying that the signal messages from the chat created by Mr. Waltz to discuss strikes on the Houthi militias in Yemen are no longer recovered.
Chioma Chukwu, temporary executive director of US supervision, said she has concerns about using a modified application.
She said: “The use of the amended signal application may suggest an attempt to appear compatible with the laws to maintain federal records, but it actually emphasizes the serious dependence on informal tools that threaten national security and endanger our service members.” “The Americans are entitled to transparency and know that their leaders are following the law, not hiding behind unauthorized solutions.”
