The personal data and passwords of senior US security officials have been exposed in online leaks, German magazine Der Spiegel has reported.
Among those affected are National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the magazine reported.
Using commercial search engines and hacked customer data published on the internet, Der Spiegel journalists reportedly found mobile phone numbers, email addresses, and some passwords linked to these officials.
"DER SPIEGEL reporters were able to find mobile phone numbers, email addresses and even some passwords belonging to the top officials," the magazine said.
Der Spiegel said most of these numbers and email addresses are still in use, with some linked to social media profiles or apps that track users’ locations.
The phone numbers of Waltz and Gabbard were reportedly linked to WhatsApp and Signal, exposing them to potential spyware installation.
Hegseth’s phone number and email address were "particularly easy" to obtain, says Der Spiegel, and it was reported that the same email was used just a few days ago on the heels of the controversial Signal group chat.
"The reporting has revealed an additional grave, previously unknown security breach at the highest levels in Washington," it said, adding "Hostile intelligence services could use this publicly available data to hack the communications of those affected by installing spyware on their devices. It is thus conceivable that foreign agents were privy to the Signal chat group in which Gabbard, Waltz and Hegseth discussed a military strike."
A US judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to preserve messages from a Signal chat group used by President Donald Trump's top national security officials to discuss plans for an attack on Yemen.
US District Judge James Boasberg said he will order the government to "preserve all Signal communication between March 11 and March 15," referring to the commercial messaging app.
Democrats hold Trump administration officials accountable for discussing sensitive attack plans on Signal messaging app, arguing that lives could have been lost if the information had fallen into the wrong hands.
Signalgate scandal fallouts
The revelations follow a separate report by American magazine The Atlantic, in which Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg said he was mistakenly added to a Signal group chat where high-level officials discussed US airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
According to Goldberg, the group included Waltz, Gabbard, Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, senior presidential aide Stephen Miller and others.
On the morning of the March 15 attacks, Goldberg said the chat contained operational details — including intended targets and the types of weapons to be used — and later featured congratulatory messages and emojis as the strikes were carried out.
Congratulatory messages among the senior officials began to appear as the strikes unfolded, confirming his suspicions that the thread was genuine. He left the chat the following day.
Trump later said that Waltz would "probably" stop using Signal, to which the national security adviser responded: "I agree with you. Let’s get everybody in the room, whenever, whenever possible."
Officials deny that classified material was shared in the group chat. However, opposition lawmakers and some Republicans have voiced concern over the apparent breach in operational security.
Handling national defence information outside secure, authorised channels is a criminal offense under US law.
President Trump’s team downplays concerns over Hegseth’s Signal messages revealing US strike details in Yemen. While officials insist no sensitive info was leaked, the Pentagon remains silent on key details of the operation.
