The National Security Agency (NSA) has offered more insights into the dangers of secure messaging in the workplace, specifically highlighting two features of the Signal app. The latest advisory, reported by Forbes, emphasised that user behaviour, not app vulnerabilities, poses the primary threat. The NSA’s warning, often mislabeled as a Signal vulnerability due to a recent incident, actually addresses how simple user errors can compromise security. It urges users to adjust messaging settings.
Linked Devices and Group Invite Links on Signal
The NSA reportedly talked about Signal’s two key features: Linked Devices and Group Invite Links.
The Linked Devices feature allows users to synchronise messages across multiple devices, making communication more seamless. While convenient, it also means that if exploited, a full replica of the account could exist on another device. To protect your privacy, NSA suggests that users regularly review and unlink any unfamiliar devices in their app’s settings to prevent unauthorised access.
Group invite links essentially simplify the process of adding new members to a group. However, they also pose a security risk, as they can unintentionally expose sensitive conversations to unintended users – just like it happened with the recent episode in which the National Security Advisor (NSA) Mike Waltz faced backlash after ‘mistakenly’ adding The Atlantic’s editor to a private chat discussing a bombing campaign in Yemen.
Signal addresses this concern by allowing users to disable group links under group settings. In contrast, WhatsApp does not offer an option to disable links but provides an admin-only invite restriction, giving group admins more control over who joins.
White House says ‘Case Closed’
The Trump administration has reportedly moved over the Signal scandal, calling it “case closed”.
“As the president has made it very clear, Mike Waltz continues to be an important part of his national security team and this case has been closed here at the White House as far as we are concerned,” said press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“There have been steps made to ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again, and we’re moving forward,” she added.
