Mike Waltz stated that the White House had cleared him of wrongdoing.
Former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz defended his controversial use of Signal to coordinate sensitive military discussions, asserting it was in line with cybersecurity guidance from the federal government.
According to CyberScoop, during a Senate confirmation hearing, Waltz maintained that no classified information was shared, and cited 2024 guidance from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency that endorsed Signal for secure communications.
Critics highlighted that CISA lacks authority over military operations and that the app, though encrypted, may not meet the security standards required for national security discussions: especially since Waltz reportedly used a third-party clone of Signal. Despite ongoing investigations by the Department of Defense and Air Force into potential breaches. Waltz stated that the White House had cleared him of wrongdoing.
Senator Tim Kaine challenged Waltz’s assertion that no sensitive material was mishandled.
Written by
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with 25 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 17 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Forum, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and the National Cyber Security Show, and served as editor of SC Media UK, Infosecurity Magazine and IT Security Guru. He was also an analyst with 451 Research and a product marketing lead at Tenable.
