The United States Customs and Border Protection agency confirmed on Wednesday that it uses at least one communication app made by the service TeleMessage, which creates clones of popular apps like Signal and WhatsApp with the addition of an archiving mechanism for compliance of records-retention rules.
“Following the detection of a cyber incident, CBP immediately disabled TeleMessage as a precautionary measure,” CBP spokesperson Rhonda Lawson tells WIRED. “The investigation into the scope of the breach is ongoing.”
President Donald Trump’s now-former national security adviser Mike Waltz was photographed last week using TeleMessage Signal during a cabinet meeting, and the photo seemed to show that he was communicating with other high-ranking officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and what appears to be US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In the days since the photo was published, TeleMessage has reportedly suffered a series of breaches that illustrate concerning security flaws. Analysis of the app’s Android source code also appears to indicate fundamental flaws in the service’s security scheme. As these findings emerged, TeleMessage—an Israeli company that completed an acquisition last year by the US-based company Smarsh—imposed a service pause on its products pending investigation.
“TeleMessage is investigating a potential security incident. Upon detection, we acted quickly to contain it and engaged an external cybersecurity firm to support our investigation,” a Smarsh spokesperson told WIRED in a statement on Monday. “Out of an abundance of caution, all TeleMessage services have been temporarily suspended. All other Smarsh products and services remain fully operational.”
WIRED contacted CBP about its potential use of the software after some data stolen from TeleMessage in one of the recent breaches indicated that CBP was potentially a customer.
US senator Ron Wyden called for the Department of Justice to investigate TeleMessage in a letter on Tuesday, alleging that the service is “a serious threat to US national security.” TeleMessage is a federal contractor, but the consumer apps it offers are not approved for use under the US government’s Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP. In his letter, Wyden referenced that “several federal agencies” use TeleMessage, asserting that the company “sold dangerously insecure communications software to the White House and other federal agencies.”
There is still no complete public accounting of US government officials and agencies that have used the software.
