“We are currently clean on OPSEC.”
Those infamous words, typed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth into a Signal group created by White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to coordinate U.S. airstrikes in Yemen, could not have been further from the truth.
As the entire world knows by now, the Signal group’s security was compromised when Waltz mistakenly added to the proceedings the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg.
There are many problems with what has now been dubbed “SignalGate,” and there are also many misperceptions.
My latest piece from Foreign Affairs outlines what I consider to the real lessons of SignalGate, focusing on the insecurities of personal devices. Read the full piece below.
Ronald J. Deibert, “The Real Lesson of SignalGate.” Foreign Affairs, April 24, 2025.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/real-lesson-signal-gate-pete-hegseth