TeleMessage: Security and Compliance Challenges

When former national security advisor Mike Waltz had a picture taken of him last week, he didn’t expect for the whole world to see that he was using TeleMessage, a messaging app similar to Signal. Now the app has been hacked, with portions of data linked to government entities like Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and companies like Coinbase. Today on the show, we’re joined by WIRED senior writer Lily Hay Newman to discuss what this incident tells us about the growing vulnerabilities in government communications.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

• Mike Waltz Has Somehow Gotten Even Worse at Using Signal
• The Signal Clone the Trump Admin Uses Was Hacked  
• The Signal Clone Mike Waltz Was Caught Using Has Direct Access to User Chats

You can follow Zoë Schiffer on Bluesky @zoeschiffer, and Lily Hay Newman @lhn.