The Pentagon has installed a system in the office of Defense Secretary Pete Hegses to allow messages to be checked with encrypted messaging app signals while in the office. According to two sources, the system bypassed standard defense department security protocols.
A computer monitor in Hegseth’s office will be installed and will provide remote access to signal apps and text messages from his personal mobile phone, sources say. Hegseth used the system to check and respond to those messages on his desk, sources said.
The Associated Press previously reported that Hegseth was using an unsecured internet connection. This is known among IT and cybersecurity experts as the “dirty line.” This connection bypasses security protocols that protect against vulnerabilities that could be exploited by enemies.
A Pentagon spokesman has denied that there is a “dirty line” and currently denying the use of signals within Heggs’ offices. A spokesperson said there was a physical line running between the computer monitor in the Secretary of Defense’s office and his cell phone. The monitor warns him in a message so he can step out to check the phone. Officials said it is currently set as one-way.
Office Suite is a sensitive compartmentalized information facility or SCIF where mobile phones are prohibited.
Two sources with knowledge of the issue told CBS News that workarounds are security risks. Even if his phone is not in the office, it still provides Hegseth access to his personal iPhone texting and signal chat groups at his desk. Not found in the Department of Defense’s non-secure Internet Protocol router network, known in military terminology as NIPR.
Hegus, a veteran and former Fox News host, faces criticism after it was reported this week that he shared details about the imminent US airstrikes in Yemen. Private Signal Group What he created includes his wife, his brother and a personal lawyer, both of whom have positions in the pentagon, but is not in a position to know that sensitive information. That was the second Signal Group Chat Hegseth shared the information.
Colonel Ricky Breer, an aide to the Marine Corps in Hegses’ office, helped organize efforts to fix internet connectivity issues at Hegses’ office during the first few days of the administration, two sources said. Buria was overseeing the work to set the action of the signal, sources said.
The Department of Defense did not respond to requests for comment on Buria’s role.
signal,End-to-end encrypted messaging applications have a desktop app that connects to a user’s mobile device via a unique QR code. Once paired, the desktop version reflects the mobile version, allowing users to send and receive messages, access contacts, and manage shared media.
The source spoke to CBS News under conditions of anonymity.
James Laporta contributed to this report.
