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Late last month, Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, revealed in an op-ed that he was accidentally added to a group chat on the messaging app Signal. in this conversation, top U.S. national security officials, including defense secretary Pete Hegseth and vice president J.D. Vance, were finalizing plans for an imminent attack on the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
After the article, many people questioned why such sensitive information was shared over signal and how no one realized a journalist was part of the group chat. For those unfamiliar with the messaging app, many professionals use signal because it values security and anonymity. Messages are end-to-end encrypted and scrambled so the company can’t see the subject matter. Signal, unlike meta or apple, is run by a nonprofit that’s aim is to protect privacy.
Government officials do use it to set up sensitive meetings or alert each other to check for classified information elsewhere. But while the app is considered secure, it’s not impenetrable and isn’t approved for the transfer of classified government information. Signal messages can also be set to automatically delete after a certain amount of time, leading some to question the legality of using the app for government communications that could be made public through a freedom of information or FOIA request.
This incident also brings up a larger question – How many more conversations are being had over non-secure channels? And what if this information happened to get into the wrong hands next time?
The post Viewpoints Explained: What Is Signal? The App Embroiled In Controversy appeared first on Viewpoints Radio.
