The Signal app promises secure and encrypted chats between users.
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has blamed his iPhone for accidentally inviting a journalist into a secret discussion of a strategic military strike.
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic magazine, accepted a March 13 invitation from Waltz that was intended for National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes. Goldberg then reported on the chat, revealing that the administration used the Signal app for what should be considered classified information.
A report published in the UK by The Guardian explained exactly how the error in inviting Goldberg occurred. The journalist was accidentally included because Waltz accepted an iPhone-suggested updated contact number in Hughes’ original missive, thinking it was an updated number for Hughes — when in fact it was the number for Goldberg.
Goldberg thus received Hughes’ invitation to the Signal chat among White House advisors. Goldberg’s resulting article revealed the name of the chat — “Houthi PC small group” — and that plans were discussed for an upcoming military strike against the Houthis in Yemen.
The current administration is not the only one to have relied on Signal. The Biden administration also used it, because the government does not have its own system and Signal is considered one of the most secure messaging platforms.
