Analysis of the leakage of US defense secrets: the mistakes and influence of Trump's top cabinet

In March 2025, an incident involving the leakage of US defense secrets drew widespread global attention. The cause of this incident was rather bizarre: several top cabinet members of Trump's administration, including the National Security Advisor, the Secretary of Defense, and the Vice President, accidentally added a journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to a Signal encrypted messaging group while discussing a secret military operation against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. This mistake not only led to the premature disclosure of the US military's operation plan but also raised questions both domestically and internationally about the US government's information security management.

According to Goldberg, on March 11, he unexpectedly received a friend request on Signal from a user named Michael Waltz (presumably the National Security Advisor to President Trump). Despite being surprised, he accepted the request. Two days later, Goldberg was added to an encrypted chat group named "Houthi PC Group". The members of this group included National Security Advisor Waltz, Secretary of Defense Hesse, Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Gabard, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Miller, among other key figures in the US government.

In the group chat, Goldberg witnessed detailed discussions among US top officials about the upcoming attack on the Houthi rebels in Yemen. These discussions covered concerns about the timing of the operation, analysis of potential public reactions, expectations for returns from European allies, and predictions of possible oil price surges. However, what surprised Goldberg the most was that on the morning of March 15, Secretary of Defense Hesse released the details of the upcoming attack on Yemen in the group chat, including the targets, the weapons the US would deploy, and the sequence of the attack. These sensitive details were shared in the group chat shortly before the US military launched an airstrike against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The impact of this incident is far-reaching. Firstly, it exposed serious loopholes in the information security management of the US government's top echelons. As an encrypted messaging service, "Signal" itself is widely recognized for its security, with its end-to-end encryption technology ensuring the security of messages during transmission. However, this leak incident was not due to a breach of "Signal's" security but rather a human error - mistakenly adding a journalist to a group chat. This mistake not only led to the premature disclosure of US military operation plans but also potentially caused incalculable damage to the US national security and diplomatic relations.

Secondly, this incident has also raised questions within the US about the Trump administration's information security policies. As the President of the United States, Trump claimed to have no knowledge of the incident after it was exposed and showed obvious dissatisfaction with The Atlantic. However, this attitude cannot cover up the government's dereliction of duty in information security management. Democratic member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jack Reed, stated in a statement that if the incident is true, it would be one of the most serious security lapses he has ever seen. Military operations require extremely cautious handling and the use of approved secure communication lines; otherwise, American lives are at stake.

Furthermore, this incident may also have a negative impact on the US's international image and diplomatic relations. The US has always been committed to maintaining its image as a global leader, and this leak incident undoubtedly weakens its position in this regard. At the same time, the leak incident may also lead to a crisis of trust between the US and its allies. After all, if even the highest levels of the US cannot guarantee the security of classified information, how can allies feel confident in sharing sensitive intelligence with the US?

This recent incident of classified information leakage in the United States is not only a serious security blunder but also a profound lesson. Therefore, enhancing information security awareness, improving information security management mechanisms, and upgrading information security technology levels are the keys to preventing similar incidents from happening again. At the same time, this event has also exposed the inadequacies in the management of the cabinet's top-level officials in the US government. As the highest decision-makers of the country, the top-level officials of the cabinet should possess a high sense of responsibility and confidentiality awareness. However, in this incident, they clearly failed to do so. Thus, the US government needs to strengthen the management and supervision of the cabinet's top-level officials to ensure they can fulfill their duties effectively and safeguard the country's security and interests.