After some high-ranking officials from the Trump administration accidentally included journalist Jeffrey Goldberg in a top-secret group chat about military operations, the messaging app Signal found itself embroiled in controversy, with some blaming it for the incident. However, experts pointed out that the real issues stemmed from poor security practices, rather than flaws in Signal itself. They emphasized the importance of only inviting trusted contacts into sensitive discussions and using secure devices and platforms. This incident, dubbed “SignalGate,” ironically led to a surge in downloads for Signal in the U.S.
In a related revelation, national security adviser Mike Waltz left his Venmo account publicly accessible, exposing a list of his friends and colleagues to potential scrutiny. Following inquiries from WIRED, the friends list was hidden, but other officials’ Venmo accounts linked to the group chat were also found to contain sensitive information that could be valuable to hackers and foreign spies.
The White House’s choice of using Elon Musk’s Starlink for its Wi-Fi network raised further concerns about network security. Meanwhile, some companies in Europe began to shy away from cloud services provided by major U.S. firms, citing risks associated with the unpredictability of the Trump administration.
Additional news reported by German outlet Der Spiegel revealed that personal data belonging to several senior Trump security officials, including phone numbers and email addresses, is readily available online. This information, obtained through public data breaches and people-search engines, remains a security vulnerability, especially given the potential targeting by nation-state hackers.
Meanwhile, a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, leading to reports of significant damage and casualties. However, longstanding internet restrictions in the country complicated assessment and reporting efforts on the disaster, highlighting the importance of reliable internet access during emergencies.
In cybersecurity news, Connor Moucka, a suspect in a major hacking spree involving Snowflake, is being extradited to the U.S. to face charges, including computer fraud. Additionally, London is set to implement its first permanent facial recognition cameras, raising concerns among privacy advocates regarding the implications of constant surveillance.
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