Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz


Soon after former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz appeared at the center of a major scandal over the use of messaging app Signal, the White House found itself in trouble again when Waltz was photographed using another messaging app, TeleMessage. The latter was recently hacked and then suspended its service, causing more concern among national security experts.
What happened with the app?
The app in question, TeleMessage, was infiltrated by a hacker, who stole data containing the "contents of some direct messages and group chats sent using its Signal clone, as well as modified versions of WhatsApp," according to tech outlet 404Media, which first reported the incident. The app was reportedly used by high-level members of the Trump administration, including Waltz, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
The hacker has "not obtained the messages of cabinet members, Waltz," or other White House officials, said 404Media. But TeleMessage confirmed the hack and "worked quickly to contain it and engaged an external cybersecurity firm to support our investigation," the app's parent company, Smarsh, said in a statement. Out of an "abundance of caution, all TeleMessage services have been temporarily suspended."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What is the White House connection?
The TeleMessage hack comes days after a "photograph of Mike Waltz, then the national security adviser, showed that he was using the application to read Signal messages on his phone," said The New York Times. The picture, taken by a Reuters photographer, depicted Waltz looking at what appeared to be the app while in a Cabinet meeting.
U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is seen checking his mobile phone while attending a cabinet meeting held by U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 30, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein pic.twitter.com/gQAvgypVFfMay 1, 2025
Experts raised issues over Waltz's use of TeleMessage due to potential security concerns surrounding encrypted messages. This also occurred after Waltz created a chat room on Signal to "discuss strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen, but inadvertently added a journalist from The Atlantic to the group," said the Times, which many believe may have contributed to Waltz's ousting as national security adviser.
Adding scrutiny to Waltz's use of TeleMessage during the Cabinet meeting is the fact that the photo "appeared to show chat logs on Waltz’s phone with Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among others," said CNN. Questions of TeleMessage's vulnerabilities have also been raised. Unlike Signal, which "automatically encrypts messages as they travel between users," the "details around TeleMessage's encryption and security protocols aren't fully clear," said NBC News.
Signal is "highly regarded by cybersecurity experts, but the federal government has specific systems and protocols for transmitting sensitive information and messages," said NBC. Using encrypted messages "poses a problem for officials subject to laws that require them to save their correspondence — creating a tension between the need for secrecy and archiving." TeleMessage previously had a message on its website that it was "conceived for just such a reason," said NBC, but this message no longer appears.
TeleMessage was "designed to capture the messages once they've been decrypted so they can be preserved and stored," said Reuters. That "functionality can be useful for complying with government rules on document retention but if poorly implemented it can introduce security risks."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
-
Uruguay shaken by 'phantom cow' scam
Under the Radar Cattle seen as a safe investment in beef-mad nation – but the cows, and people's life savings, are nowhere to be found
-
Critics' choice: Steak houses that break from tradition
Feature Eight hours of slow-roasting prime rib, a 41-ounce steak, and a former Catholic school chapel turned steakhouse
-
Tash Aw's 6 favorite books about forbidden love
Feature The Malaysian novelist recommends works by James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and more
-
Deportations: Miller's threat to the courts
Feature The Trump administration is considering suspending habeas corpus to speed up deportations without due process
-
Asylum: Only white Afrikaners need apply
Feature Trump welcomes white Afrikaner farmers while shutting down the asylum program for non-white refugees
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Law: The battle over birthright citizenship
Feature Trump shifts his focus to nationwide injunctions after federal judges block his attempt to end birthright citizenship
-
The threat to the NIH
Feature The Trump administration plans drastic cuts to medical research. What are the ramifications?
-
Courts try to check administration on deportations
Feature The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to end protected status for Venezuelans, but blocks deportations under the Alien Enemies Act
-
House GOP pushes ahead on deficit-boosting tax bill
Feature Republicans push a bill that will lock in Trump's tax cuts, cut Medicaid and add trillions to the national debt
-
'Gen Z has been priced out of a future, so we invest in the present'
instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day