It’s an encrypted messaging app for group chats with family, friends and colleagues — and, if you’re the United States government, for planning military strikes with the vice president of the United States, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the secretary of defence.
Signal has taken centre stage after The Atlantic revealed this week its editor in chief was inadvertently added to a group chat on the app in which members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration planned strikes on the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The story has quickly consumed the United States media, occupying front pages from New York to Los Angeles. The drip-drip continued Wednesday, when — minus the name of a CIA officer mentioned in the chat — that revealed specific strike details were shared 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes launched, putting American soldiers at risk.
- Tara Copp The Associated Press
The White House has sought to downplay what critics are calling a stunning and cavalier security breach. “This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt .
So what, really, is Signal and the ongoing “Signalgate” scandal?
What is Signal?
Signal, run by a non-profit, is available on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux and sells itself as a “simple, powerful and secure” messaging app with an “unexpected focus on privacy.”
It says it has end-to-end encryption, meaning the company and others can’t read user messages or listen to calls.
In recent days, Signal has shot to the top of the app store charts in North America. On Wednesday morning, it was ranked 18th on the Apple store in Canada and 13th in the U.S.
How secure is Signal, really?
While it promises total privacy and is more secure than conventional texting and many messaging apps, Signal can still be hacked.
A day before the strikes in Yemen, the U.S. Department of Defense warned its employees about the app’s vulnerabilities — specifically that Russia was trying to hack the app, according to the Associated Press.
And days after the strike, the Pentagon internally told its employees that Signal had “vulnerabilities” from Russian professional hackers using Signal’s linked devices features to spy on conversations, . Another 2023 memo obtained by NPR warned against using Signal for nonpublic information.
- Tara Copp The Associated Press
In a , Signal said these warnings have “nothing to do with Signal’s core tech,” but are a “warning against phishing scams targeting Signal users.”
“It’s not a flaw in our encryption or any of Signal’s underlying technology,” the company posted. “Phishing attacks are a constant threat for popular apps and websites.”
The company said it remains the “gold standard for private, secure communications.”
How does the U.S. government use Signal?
According to the Associated Press, the Biden administration allowed some officials to use Signal on their White House-issued phones — but told them to use it sparingly. An official told AP that Signal was usually used to tell officials when they were away from the office to check their inbox for classified messages.
What did the Trump administration share on Signal?
Trump’s national security adviser Michael Waltz added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to chat titled “Houthi PC small group” — which included Vice President JD Vance, secretary of defence Pete Hegseth, CIA director John Ratcliffe and national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard, among others.
Goldberg revealed in that he was added to the chat and was a fly on the wall as top U.S. officials planned a strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. The texts revealed a split between Trump and Vance, with the vice president saying he thought launching the attack then was a “mistake,” and later revealed specific attack plans.
“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package),” Hegseth sent in a message at 11:44 a.m. “1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME) — also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s).”
What has the reaction been?
While the White House is asserting no classified information was shared on Signal — and Hegseth has asserted he did not reveal “war plans” on the app — the revelations have absorbed Washington this week.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said it was “one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time” and called for a full investigation.
- Jill Lawless, Emma Burrows And Nicholas Riccardi The Associated Press
Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he is “very concerned” about the breach and would be looking into it.
House speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, said the officials in the chat were “trying to do a good job” and it would be a “terrible mistake” if they faced consequences.
With files from the Associated Press.
