The private data of top security advisers to US President Donald Trump has been found online, according to German news magazine Der Spiegel. This incident is another addition to the growing list of major security failures associated with his administration.

The magazine reported that phone numbers, email addresses, and even passwords used by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are accessible through online data-search services and leaked hacked data.

It happened as Mike Waltz, US Security advisor accidentally added a journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg from The Atlantic magazine, to a private chat. On Wednesday, The Atlantic published details of the conversation. Many of these contact details were linked to social media accounts like Instagram and LinkedIn, as well as cloud storage services like Dropbox. Some were also used for location-tracking apps.

The phone numbers of Gabbard and Waltz were reportedly connected to messaging apps WhatsApp and Signal, making them vulnerable to spyware attacks. Der Spiegel also said that foreign agents might have been spying on them. This could include a recent Signal group chat discussing secret US airstrikes on Yemen's Houthi rebels on March 15.

Der Spiegel said that the three officials did not reply to their requests for comments. The National Security Council stated that Waltz’s accounts and passwords mentioned in the report had already been changed in 2019.

Waltz took the responsibility

US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on Tuesday took "full responsibility" for mistakenly adding a senior journalist to a group chat where top American officials were discussing planned airstrikes in Yemen.

US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz admitted his mistake in a Fox News interview, saying, “I take full responsibility. I built the group; my job is to make sure everything's coordinated.” This was his first public statement on the security breach.

Waltz also mentioned that he does not personally know The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg, who was mistakenly added to the Signal chat.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump downplayed the incident, calling it “the only glitch in two months” of his administration. His remarks came as Democratic lawmakers criticized the government for handling classified military plans carelessly.

Speaking to NBC News, Trump said the mistake “turned out not to be a serious one” and reaffirmed his support for Waltz.

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