TeleMessage probes 'hack' of Signal clone used by Feds

Updated An unidentified miscreant is said to have obtained US government communications from TeleMessage, a messaging and archiving app based on the open-source Signal app and used by ousted national security advisor Michael Waltz. TeleMessage, which was acquired by Oregon-based Smarsh in 2024, says it's shut the app down for now. "TeleMessage is investigating a potential security incident," a company spokesperson told The Register Monday. "Upon detection, we acted quickly to contain it and engaged an external cybersecurity firm to support our investigation. Out of an abundance of caution, all TeleMessage services have been temporarily suspended. All other Smarsh products and services remain fully operational." Waltz's use of the app emerged last week after a Reuters photo showed the advisor holding a phone running an app with a PIN verification popup similar but not identical to the one used by Signal. That's the same Mike Waltz who was at the center of March's Signalgate storm in which, among other things, secret military plans were shared in a group text chat that inadvertently included a journalist. The ex-Vice folks at 404 Media determined from that photograph that the "TM SGNL" PIN popup came from TeleMessage's Signal clone, which supports things like message archiving – a feature TeleMessage touts on its website. The official version of Signal implements strong end-to-end encryption to protect messages from being intercepted and read during transit. It isn't immediatel...