The Trump Administration's Use of Signal App Raises Questions About Security and Classified Information
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's use of a popular messaging app to discuss sensitive military plans — with a journalist on the text chain — is raising questions about security and the importance of safeguarding the nation's secrets.
The issue has highlighted the differences between classified and public information, and demonstrating that even encrypted apps like Signal can lead to embarrassing leaks if the humans doing the texting don't follow basic security tips.
What's the Difference Between 'Classified' and ‘Top Secret’?
President Donald Trump's administration says no classified material was leaked when senior officials used Signal to discuss upcoming attack plans against the Houthi rebels in Yemen — even though a journalist was on the chat.
However, the information contained details that would have been highly valuable to the Houthis or other adversaries, showing how sometimes the decision of what to classify is a judgment call.
The federal government routinely classifies vast amounts of information pertaining to military and intelligence operations. The material ranges from top secret nuclear programs or the identities of undercover agents all the way to mundane records that would be of little interest to anyone, let alone America's adversaries.
Advocates for open government have long complained that the push for secrecy goes too far, mishandling secrets. Trump ally Kash Patel, now the FBI director, has said he witnessed Trump declassify material that was taken after his first term to the president’s Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, but no evidence has emerged to support that claim.
Who Decides to Classify or Declassify Something?
The power to classify or declassify lies in the hands of top federal officials, including the president and Cabinet secretaries. For military information like the attack plans discussed over Signal, the power lies with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has faced demands that he resign over the leak.
The Pentagon hasn't said whether Hegseth declassified the attack plans before or after the Signal conversation, but Ratcliffe, Gabbard and the White House have all said the chats contained no classified information.
"I haven’t participated in any Signal group messaging that relates to any classified information at all,” Ratcliffe proclaimed at one point.
There's Secure, and Then There's Secure Enough for Classified Secrets
For many consumers, encrypted apps like Signal can offer greater protections for everyday conversations. But that doesn't mean they're secure enough for government secrets, or immune to human error, as the inclusion of a reporter on the text chain shows.
Sr senior federal officials who handle classified data receive extensive training about the need to use approved devices and platforms to discuss government secrets. Intelligence and national security agencies have whole departments devoted to cybersecurity and the protection of state secrets.
Government cybersecurity officials have recommended that federal employees use encrypted apps like Signal, which can offer greater security for routine communication, and Ratcliffe said this week it was a “permissible” app for senior officials to use. But the app is only as secure as the device it's downloaded onto.
The government’s most sensitive information is typically discussed in a facility known as a sensitive compartmented information facility, or SCIF, which is designed to allow officials to review or discuss secrets without fear of eavesdropping or cyber intrusion.
Any senior official using a personal device to discuss classified material could be at risk of cyberespionage, said Michael Williams, an expert on international relations and national security at Syracuse University.
“Signal may be encrypted, but it's the devices that are really the issue,” Williams said. “All of these people are being targeted.”
The Trump Administration's Use of Signal App Raises Questions About Security and Classified Information
The Trump administration's use of a popular messaging app to discuss sensitive military plans has raised questions about security and the importance of safeguarding the nation's secrets.
The issue has highlighted the differences between classified and public information, and demonstrating that even encrypted apps like Signal can lead to embarrassing leaks if the humans doing the texting don't follow basic security tips.