Mar 26, 2025 22:35:00

CIA director admits Signal is one of his official communications apps

During a

Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the incident in which aides to President Trump accidentally included members of the media in a Signal group chat , CIA Director John Ratcliffe, in response to questioning from Senator Mark Warner, acknowledged that the agency uses Signal as an official app.

US Officials Called Signal a Tool for Criminals. Now They're Using It.
https://theintercept.com/2025/03/25/signal-chat-encryption-hegseth-cia/

What to know about Signal, which the Pentagon previously discouraged workers from using - ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/what-is-signal-messaging-encryption/story?id=120129513

'Signal' is known as a messaging app with a reputation for its safety, and experts say it is safer than 'Telegram,' a messaging app that is said to be highly anonymous. On the other hand, there are also voices, mainly Elon Musk, that question its safety.

Why is the messenger app Signal widely considered safer than Telegram by experts? - GIGAZINE

The Department of Defense, in a previous investigation of employees who had used Signal to communicate official information, reported that 'Signal is not approved for use by the Department of Defense as a messaging or voice calling app.'

However, the editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine The Atlantic was invited to a Signal group chat by a presidential aide to the Trump administration, and it was revealed that the group chat was discussing the attack on Yemen.

President Trump's aide accidentally leaks top-secret war plans, actual screenshots also released - GIGAZINE

When questioned by Senator Mark Warner before the Senate Intelligence Committee about the use of Signal, CIA Director Ratcliffe said, 'Signal is an authorized tool for communication between senators.'

The most secure messenger app, Signal, is officially approved as a communication tool between US senators - GIGAZINE

Ratcliffe then said, 'When I was appointed director of the CIA, one of the first things that happened was that, like most CIA employees, Signal was installed on my computer. Early on in my tenure, I was briefed by the CIA's records manager about permissible uses of Signal for the purposes of my job. This has been a practice throughout this administration and into the Biden administration.'

Secretary Ratcliffe's remarks can be seen in the video provided by ABC News.

Senator grills Gabbard on Signal chat leaks: 'Show the texts now' - YouTube


However, some people have raised concerns about high-ranking government officials having secret conversations on apps like Signal, as it raises questions about the transparency of information in the first place.