(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A Homeland Security Inspector General’s investigation has revealed that some Secret Service text messages were “compromised” thanks to an unsecured third-party messaging app.
In a report issued earlier this week, the DHS-OIG said that the Secret Service deployed a third-party messaging app on agency-owned devices in March 2025.
“A limited number of Secret Service messages were compromised when the messaging solution improperly stored them on unsecured third-party servers,” the DHS-OIG report says.
The Secret Service told the DHS-OIG that the compromised messages contained employees’ information—but not “operationally sensitive data.” However, the DHS inspector general said he did not review the accuracy of the Secret Service’s claim.
A new DHS-OIG report found that some Secret Service messages were "compromised" due to unsecured 3rd-party servers.
The agency insisted that "no operationally sensitive data" was compromised, but the DHS-OIG said it didn't verify that claim.
(STORY BELOW) pic.twitter.com/HYnR86fKUE— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) June 26, 2026
The DHS-OIG also scolded the Secret Service for allowing—and even encouraging—its agents to use their personal devices. One official told the inspector general that using personal devices was necessary to communicate overseas with foreign stakeholders.
Additionally, agents don’t wipe their devices when returning from overseas trips, the report found.
“Until the Secret Service improves security controls for mobile devices used overseas, employees’ sensitive device information and communication with protectees face similar risks,” the inspector general warned. “These risks are even greater when employees rely on personal devices, which also lack Mobile Threat Defense and are not routinely wiped after travel.”
In response to the audit, the Secret Service promised to increase training and enforce protocols to make sure agents aren’t using their personal devices.
The DHS OIG study was launched after President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated at his July 13, 2024, campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The inspector general has also reviewed other elements of the agency, including how its snipers are trained. In that review, the DHS-OIG found that they’re overworked and not properly qualified.
The inspector general is reportedly being blocked from conducting some of this review. DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari told Congress in March that he’s being blocked from investigating the agency’s intelligence-sharing ahead of the Butler rally.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
