The private data of top security advisers to US President Donald Trump has been found online, according to a report published on Wednesday (Mar 26). This new revelation adds further fallout to the previous revelations of serious security lapses within the Trump administration.  

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It comes as a discussion on Yemen war plans was leaked after a journalist was "accidentally" added to a chat group which included the US vice president, defence secretary, secretary of state and some other members.

Also read | Who is Jeffrey Goldberg? The journalist accidentally sent classified Yemen war plan

Trump admin's sensitive info out on the internet

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As per a report by German news magazine Der Spiegel, mobile phone numbers, email addresses, and in some cases passwords linked to National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have been discovered through commercial data-search services and hacked databases.

While it is unclear how recent all the leaked details are, some of the information is believed to be current.

Also read | Trump Houthi attack plan: What did the leaked Yemen strike chat 'reveal'?

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The disclosure comes as the Trump administration faces bipartisan calls for resignations following Monday's revelations that top officials had used an unsecured Signal group chat to discuss classified military plans for airstrikes on Yemen's Houthi rebels. The chat included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and others, raising concerns over the security of US military operations.  

Security breach sparks alarm  

The report states that Hegseth's personal information was "particularly easy" to locate, with his email address appearing in over 20 data breaches. In some cases, the email address and even associated passwords were accessible. His phone number, which had recently been linked to WhatsApp, appears to have only been deleted in the wake of the revelations.  

Also read | Zelensky declares Putin 'will die soon' as Ukraine continues to endure Russian attacks

Both Gabbard and Waltz's numbers were also linked to WhatsApp and Signal accounts, potentially leaving them vulnerable to spyware. Der Spiegel warned that foreign intelligence agencies may have monitored their communications, including the now-infamous Signal group chat that inadvertently included The Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg. 

Details of the chat, which contained sensitive military discussions, were published by The Atlantic on Wednesday. 

The National Security Council claimed that the compromised Waltz accounts and passwords had been changed in 2019. However, the new revelation has led to the argument that this exposes major weaknesses in how the Trump administration handles sensitive information.  

(With inputs from agencies)