Trump Team’s OpSec: A Security Nightmare?

The irony is stark: Donald Trump, who rode into the White House on the back of criticism of Hillary Clinton’s email security, has become a symbol of information security risks himself. A recent incident highlights the alarming laxity within his administration.

In a bizarre security breach, top Trump officials inadvertently included The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg in their encrypted Signal group chat. The unthinkable happened when Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared operational details about upcoming U.S. airstrikes in Yemen, details that were executed just two hours later.

This wasn’t a sophisticated infiltration. Goldberg received an invitation from Trump’s national security advisor, Michael Waltz. He then eavesdropped for 48 hours undetected by America’s top security minds.

Beyond the blatant hypocrisy, this incident exposes a dangerous pattern with serious implications for national security.

Military leaders are concerned about operational security. The question arises: how can complex planning proceed when senior leaders themselves are information security liabilities?

Intelligence partners question America’s reliability, operating under the assumption that sensitive information could be leaked by top officials. This erodes trust, damaging counterterrorism efforts and insights into foreign governments.

If they are accidentally including journalists in secret war deliberations, what other security mistakes are being made? What vulnerabilities are foreign intelligence agencies exploiting?

The core issue: Why are senior national security officials using private messaging apps instead of secure government-controlled channels? Why is classified information being shared via personally sent invites on an app?

Trump’s history with information security is troubling. In 2017, he held an emergency meeting on a North Korean missile launch at Mar-a-Lago, within earshot of resort guests with smartphones.

He also divulged sensitive intelligence from a foreign partner to Russian officials in the Oval Office, compromising an Israeli spy inside ISIS.

Even after leaving office in his first term, Trump illegally retained classified documents, including information about nuclear weapons, at Mar-a-Lago.

While his first term had some security professionals to curb the worst impulses, the second Trump administration is purging these individuals, replacing them with loyalists and transforming the government.

While someone might be fired to quell the embarrassment, the underlying problem remains: Trump prioritizes loyalty over competence, even if it weakens national security.