Recent photographs from a cabinet meeting have uncovered an unexpected treasure. Senior White House officials, including national security adviser Mike Waltz, are communicating through an altered version of the Signal messaging app, TM SGNL. With the development of this app, the company has made message retention and archiving as configurable and robust as possible. It raises alarming questions about the security of communications between our senior government leaders.
The disclosure follows an alarming national security scandal involving Signal that erupted last month. In the midst of the cabinet meeting, Waltz mistakenly included a reporter on a group chat. They were talking about sensitive operational plans to bomb the country of Yemen. The implications of this oversight are made worse by the fact that he was live-streaming the discussion on TM SGNL at the time. A photograph from Reuters illustrates Waltz’s phone screen. The backdrop shows insults meant for “Rubio” and “Vance,” presumably Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President Vance.
One of the more alarming messages from Waltz to Rubio was just that—there is time. In response, Vance messaged Waltz, “I have confirmation from my counterpart it’s turned off.” In the meantime, the discussions at the very highest levels continued. These discussions happened on an app that lacks the security guarantees of the original Signal platform.
TM SGNL has proven useful for the government to maintain a permanent archive of Signal messages. Yet given its modified nature, it has come under a higher level of scrutiny. It’s been reported by reporters at the outlet 404 Media that many of the app’s features may be creating risks for sensitive conversations and information. The development of such an app by senior officials is a security risk, to say the least, as we’ve seen recently.
The fallout from this incident was swift. On Thursday, Donald Trump officially dismissed Mike Waltz from his long held position as national security adviser. This decision followed the release of some of these communications. When Trump appointed, now Sen. As those fears grew, so too did concerns over his handling of classified information, which eventually forced McMaster’s early exit from the administration. Interim measures have temporarily put Secretary Rubio in Waltz’s old seat.
The photos from the Cabinet meeting led to a vigorous debate about operational security. They stressed the heightened need during a crisis for clear communication protocols in the White House. The reliance on TM SGNL is extremely worrisome. It unnecessarily places the security of communications at risk for those whose duty it is to protect our national interests.