A hacker has exploited a vulnerability in TeleMessage to breach the service and steal information, according to reporting by 404 Media. TeleMessage is an Israeli firm that gives modded variations of encrypted messaging apps like Sign and Telegram.
It was revealed final week that former US Nationwide Safety Adviser Mike Waltz used TeleMessage’s modified version of Signal to archive messages. Immediately’s report indicated the presence of different high-ranking authorities officers in archived chats on the app, together with Marco Rubio, Tulsi Gabbard and Vice President JD Vance.
The unnamed hacker was capable of entry archived chats, but it surely doesn’t seem like they obtained into any of Waltz’s conversations. The hack does, nevertheless, show that the app’s message archiving service just isn’t end-to-end encrypted.
The hacker additionally accessed contact data of presidency officers, login credentials for TeleMessage and information pertaining to the US Customs and Border Safety company. Some companies who use the service, like Coinbase and Scotiabank, had been additionally hacked. 404 Media spoke to the nameless hacker, who mentioned the entire thing solely “took about 15-20 minutes” and that it “wasn’t a lot effort in any respect.” TeleMessage’s parent company Smarsh has but to touch upon the matter.
All of this occurred after Waltz unintentionally revealed he used TeleMessage throughout a cupboard assembly final week. This led individuals to query what sort of data was being shared on the app and the way it was being secured. Now we all know it wasn’t secured all that nicely.
TeleMessage gave a statement to Reuters saying that it was “investigating a possible safety incident” and suspending its providers “out of an abundance of warning.”
After all, it’s solely been a number of weeks since Signalgate, wherein it was revealed that high US officers had been utilizing the messaging app Sign to discuss active combat operations. Previous to the Trump administration, authorities officers usually prevented consumer-grade messaging apps to hash out navy plans. As an alternative, they used Delicate Compartmented Info Services (SCIFs) and in-house encrypted communication channels.
Replace, Might 5, 2025, 3:38PM ET: Added a press release from TeleMessage to verify they’re investigating a safety incident.
This text initially 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
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