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On 27 March 2025, the German newspaper Der Spiegel published an article stating that the personal data of senior officials of the administration of US President Donald Trump was available on the Internet. The journalists found phone numbers, email addresses, and in some cases even passwords using common commercial search engines.
Among those whose data was made public, the publication names National Security Advisor Mike Volz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and US Secretary of Defence Pete Hagel. According to the investigation, most of the numbers and email addresses found are still in active use. Some of them are linked to social media accounts, including Instagram and LinkedIn, as well as services such as Dropbox and fitness apps.
Der Spiegel notes that these leaks indicate “another serious security breach” at the highest levels in Washington that had previously gone unnoticed. The journalists suggest that intelligence agencies of countries hostile to the US could have used the data to hack communications or install spyware.
To confirm its conclusions, the publication published a photo from Pete Hagseth’s WhatsApp account, where he poses with two children with his torso bare. A special resource for face recognition confirmed the identity of the US Secretary of Defence. According to Der Spiegel, Gegseth may have recently deleted his WhatsApp account, but journalists still had access to his Gmail address and phone number, which he had used only a few days ago.
As for Mike Volz, his profiles were found on Microsoft Teams, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Signal. Tulsi Gabbard was more cautious: although her email address was found, it appeared in 10 data breaches at once.
The investigation highlights the vulnerability of the digital security of US officials and raises questions about how such leaks could affect US national security in a time of geopolitical tensions.
