The administration of US President Donald Trump has faced a serious blow to national security: personal data, including phone numbers and passwords, of a number of high-ranking officials have been leaked. This was reported on March 27, 2025, by the German publication Der Spiegel, citing its own investigation. Among the victims were key figures: White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. According to journalists, the leak affects information still used on social networks and messengers such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Signal, which creates unprecedented risks for the US administration.

An investigation by Der Spiegel has found that the compromised data could become a tool for enemy intelligence services. Experts fear that foreign agents may have already gained access to classified communications, including a closed Signal group where details of the military strike on Yemen carried out on March 15 were discussed. The incident, according to journalists, was made possible by careless handling of confidential information at the senior level. The leak not only undermines confidence in the US security system, but also jeopardizes ongoing operations against the Houthis and negotiations with Iran.

The problem is aggravated by the fact that the officials’ data turned out to be linked to their personal accounts on messengers that they used for official correspondence. Spiegel cites the example of a secret Signal chat where plans for an attack on Yemen were discussed, which accidentally became available to The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg due to an error in adding participants. This incident, which occurred in mid-March, had already caused a scandal, and the new data leak has only intensified the crisis. According to experts, foreign intelligence agencies, such as Russia or China, could have used the compromised numbers and passwords for phishing attacks or direct hacking of communications.

The events of recent weeks add context to what is happening. Since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, his administration has been hit with a series of leaks. In early March, The Washington Post reported on a compromise of Pentagon personnel data, which was linked to a hacking attack attributed to a group acting on behalf of Iran. According to Google Threat Intelligence, in 2024, similar groups have stepped up their attempts to hack the accounts of US officials via Signal and WhatsApp, indicating a systemic vulnerability. The current incident, however, stands out for its scale and the level of figures affected.