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Customs and Border Protection Confirms Its Use of Hacked Signal Clone TeleMessage


After a hacker reportedly stole data from TeleMessage Signal that included references to CBP, the agency has now confirmed that it used the app but has now “disabled” it as a “precautionary measure.”

President Donald Trump's now former national security adviser Mike Waltz was photographed last week using TeleMessage Signal during a cabinet meeting, and the photo seemed to show that he was communicating with other high-ranking officials, including Vice President JD Vance, US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and what appears to be US secretary of state Marco Rubio. Upon detection, we acted quickly to contain it and engaged an external cybersecurity firm to support our investigation,” a Smarsh spokesperson told WIRED in a statement on Monday. US senator Ron Wyden called for the Department of Justice to investigate TeleMessage in a letter on Tuesday, alleging that the service is “a serious threat to US national security.” TeleMessage is a federal contractor, but the consumer apps it offers are not approved for use under the US government's Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP.

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