A hacker has exploited a vulnerability in TeleMessage to breach the service and steal data, according to reporting by 404 Media. TeleMessage is an Israeli company that provides modded versions of encrypted messaging apps like Signal and Telegram.
It was revealed last week that former US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz used TeleMessage’s modified version of Signal to archive messages. Today’s report indicated the presence of other high-ranking government officials in archived chats on the app, including Marco Rubio, Tulsi Gabbard and Vice President JD Vance.
The unnamed hacker was able to access archived chats, but it doesn’t look like they got into any of Waltz’s conversations. The hack does, however, prove that the app’s message archiving service is not end-to-end encrypted.
The hacker also accessed contact information of government officials, login credentials for TeleMessage and data pertaining to the US Customs and Border Protection agency. Some businesses who use the service, like Coinbase and Scotiabank, were also hacked. 404 Media spoke to the anonymous hacker, who said the whole thing only “took about 15-20 minutes” and that it “wasn’t much effort at all.” TeleMessage’s parent company Smarsh has yet to comment on the matter.
All of this happened after Waltz accidentally revealed he used TeleMessage during a cabinet meeting last week. This led people to question what kind of information was being shared on the app and how it was being secured. Now we know it wasn’t secured all that well.
TeleMessage gave a statement to Reuters saying that it was “investigating a potential security incident” and suspending its services “out of an abundance of caution.”
Of course, it’s only been a few weeks since Signalgate, in which it was revealed that top US officials were using the messaging app Signal to discuss active combat operations. Prior to the Trump administration, government officials typically avoided consumer-grade messaging apps to hash out military plans. Instead, they used Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) and in-house encrypted communication channels.
Update, May 5, 2025, 3:38PM ET: Added a statement from TeleMessage to confirm they are investigating a security incident.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/telemessage-a-signal-clone-the-trump-administration-uses-has-been-hacked-183606147.html?src=rss
