Staff Reports
Top intelligence officials within the Biden-Harris administration have taken to encouraging their staff—who they claim are under siege by foreign intelligence operatives—to download and utilize the encrypted messaging app, Signal. This move comes in the wake of the controversy surrounding how a journalist managed to infiltrate a group chat during Trump’s tenure, raising serious eyebrows about the security practices in place at the highest levels of government.
In 2024, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency decided it would be prudent to dispense some tech advice to President Joe Biden’s national security team, advising them to embrace services like Signal due to their “end-to-end encryption” features. Interestingly, this seemingly cutting-edge guidance managed to carry over into the Trump administration, as Senator Tom Cotton reported to the public that he had received extensive briefings on the matter. It seems that what’s good enough for Biden turned out to be good enough for Trump too.
According to Cotton, the Biden administration’s blessing for Signal as a communication tool purportedly aligned with the presidential recordkeeping requirements, proving once again that bipartisan agreement can be found even in the most unlikely scenarios—when it involves encrypted apps and avoiding foreign espionage, that is. CISA’s enthusiastic endorsement to download “end-to-end encrypted communications” on government devices now reads like a mandatory tech safety seminar for government insiders.
NEW: Biden-Era Policy Suggested Signal App For High-Level Officials: ‘Best Practice’ – https://t.co/qT62TK5VIT
— FirstCount (@SalvatoBert) March 26, 2025
The guidance urges these “highly targeted individuals” to fortify their mobile communications against what they claim is an imminent risk of interception from nefarious foreign parties. While the note valiantly claims that no single solution can eliminate all risks, using apps like Signal is portrayed as the gold standard for dodging intrusive eyes. Apparently, these apps not only promise secure messaging but can also accommodate fun features like disappearing messages—perfect for when one is in a pinch and needs to erase evidence of an unwise late-night chat.
Signal, which has rapidly escalated in popularity, traces its roots back to a tool for journalists trying to avoid prying eyes, and has now found its way into White House communications. It reportedly gained traction during Trump’s campaign as a defensive maneuver against Chinese hackers allegedly attempting to breach the devices of key political figures. As if that wasn’t enough to build suspense, a recent report from The Atlantic unveiled that a reporter discovered a group chat where “war plans” were supposedly being discussed—a revelation that sent shockwaves through political circles but seems more like a case of exaggerated gossip than credible intelligence.
The response from the White House was swift and vigorous. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized the sensationalist reporting, rejecting the narrative that classified plans were being casually discussed in a chat room. Even Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth backed up the administration’s stance, confirming that no sensitive information was leaked in the Signal group chat. By midweek, the original headline of The Atlantic’s article was notably altered, eliminating the phrase “war plans,” as the narrative began to unravel—proving once again that when it comes to headlines in the media, “mistakes” in phrasing can sometimes lead the charge into outright misrepresentation.
