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Signal grabbed headlines when reports emerged that members of Donald Trump’s administration used it to discuss bombing strategies in Yemen – only to accidentally add a journalist from The Atlantic to their chat. The incident raised major security concerns, but it also highlighted just how much politicians trust this app.

Signal’s unmatched privacy ensures that every message, call, and photo is end-to-end encrypted, meaning no one, not even Signal itself, can access them. Additionally, Signal operates as a non-profit and independent organisation, unlike WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta. 

This makes Signal potentially more trustworthy for sensitive conversations. Finally, Signal’s open-source code allows cybersecurity experts to verify its security measures.

Even institutions like the European Parliament and the European Commission have officially recommended using Signal for secure communication, especially in the face of rising cyber threats.

The encryption dilemma – privacy vs law enforcement

While politicians and government officials love Signal for its privacy features, law enforcement agencies see it as a major problem. Since Signal doesn’t store user data, authorities cannot access any records – even in criminal investigations.

By contrast, WhatsApp, despite also offering end-to-end encryption, does share metadata (like who contacts whom and how often) with authorities. Signal, on the other hand, stores virtually no data, making it impossible for agencies like the FBI to retrieve any information.

This makes Signal the perfect tool not only for politicians but also for journalists and activists worldwide who rely on it to protect their sources and discussions.

Political tech fails – when encryption isn’t enough

Despite using secure apps, politicians often make human errors that expose their sensitive information. The Trump administration’s Signal mishap wasn’t an isolated case. Here are some other high-profile fails:

  • Hillary Clinton’s emails (2016) – The leak of her campaign emails may have played a role in her presidential election loss.
  • Donald Trump’s campaign breach (2024) – Hackers reportedly accessed Trump’s campaign emails. While Republicans blamed Iran, this was never officially confirmed.

Mexico’s Prime Minister hacked (2024) – Claudia Sheinbaum’s private emails and phone data were stolen by cybercriminals.

European politicians under attack

Cybercriminals aren’t just targeting American politicians. In recent years, high-profile European leaders have also fallen victim to hackers:

In 2024, UK government officials and MPs had their social media accounts hijacked. A similar attack in 2016 targeted Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose account was used to post offensive content.

 In 2025, Germany’s President’s account was taken over by hackers who posted an image of Hitler with Mussolini. Earlier, in 2019, a massive data breach exposed sensitive information of Chancellor Angela Merkel and most German politicians – except those from the far-right AfD. 

Italy’s data leak scandal in 2024 revealed that hackers stole personal data from over 800,000 people, including President Sergio Mattarella. The breach had gone undetected for years. 

An e-mail scandal in Poland under the previous conservative PiS government involved an alleged leak of messages from the former head of the Prime Minister’s office, with documents surfacing on Telegram and Twitter. Although their authenticity was never confirmed, the leaks sparked political controversy. 

Also, in 2023, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk unintentionally revealed his phone PIN on camera during a parliamentary session, echoing an earlier blunder in 2011 when a laptop sticker displayed a prime minister’s password.

Politicians and the dark web: A troubling reality

A study by the security firm Proton revealed that over 4,300 politicians from the EU and the US had their email addresses leaked onto the dark web. Many of these breaches happened because officials used their work emails for personal logins, leaving them vulnerable when websites got hacked.

Among the worst affected were the UK Parliament (68% of MPs exposed), European Parliament (44%), and Denmark (41%)

Even in the US, 1 in 5 staffers working for top politicians had their email credentials compromised.

Will Politicians Ever Learn?

History has shown that even the most secure tools won’t protect politicians from themselves. Whether it’s using weak passwords, mistakenly adding the wrong people to secret chats, or exposing personal information, many of these cybersecurity failures come down to human error.

With cyberattacks increasing every year, politicians need to wake up and take their digital security more seriously. No matter which messaging app they use – Signal, WhatsApp, or others – good cybersecurity practices are key to avoiding the next big political scandal.

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