Hacker News with Generative AI: National Security

Fix U.S. National Security (github.com/signalapp)
This pull request introduces a COMSEC (communications security) advisory banner to chat threads, reminding specific pool of users that Signal—despite its robust encryption—is not an appropriate venue for discussing classified information, coordinating military operations, or engaging in off-the-books foreign policy.
White House says it's 'case closed' on the Signal group chat review (npr.org)
The White House has concluded its review of how Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently included on a Signal message group chat of high-ranking officials discussing impending strikes in Yemen.
UK's GCHQ Intern Transferred Top Secret Files to His Phone (bbc.com)
A former GCHQ intern has admitted risking national security by taking top secret data home with him on his mobile phone.
Why does US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have a Russian email address? (twitter.com)
Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.
Even If Those Weren't War Plans in Hegseth's Signal Chat, They Were War Crimes (techdirt.com)
When the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg revealed this week that senior White House officials had accidentally added him to their Yemen bombing planning session on Signal, he did something remarkable: he actually protected operational security better than the officials themselves did.
Elon Musk's SpaceX Allows Investment from China (propublica.org)
As a U.S. military contractor, SpaceX sees allowing Chinese ownership as fraught. But it will allow the investment if it comes through secrecy hubs like the Cayman Islands, court records say. “It is certainly a policy of obfuscation,” an expert said.
CIA Director Reveals Signal Comes Installed on Agency Computers (theintercept.com)
For years, U.S. officials villainized end-to-end encrypted messaging apps like Signal as the domain of criminals and terrorists and a threat to national security.
NSA warned of vulnerabilities in Signal app a month before Houthi strike chat (cbsnews.com)
The National Security Agency sent out an operational security special bulletin to its employees in February 2025 warning them of vulnerabilities in using the encrypted messaging application Signal, according to internal NSA documents obtained by CBS News.
White House Reviewing Signal Use After War Plans Chat Leak (newsweek.com)
The White House is reviewing the use of messaging service Signal after a journalist was accidentally added to a group chat with senior national security team members discussing the United States' sensitive plans for air strikes on Yemen, CNN reports.
Jeffrey Goldberg on being added to the group chat by Trump Administration (theatlantic.com)
The Trump administration planned its strikes on the Houthis using a group chat—and accidentally included The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg:
Trump's national security adviser added journalist to chat on Yemen strike (cnn.com)
U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat (theatlantic.com)
The Trump administration planned its strikes on the Houthis using a group chat—and accidentally included The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg:
U.S. Finds China Building Giant Fusion Laser During Aerial Survey (wecb.fm)
In a development that has raised eyebrows worldwide, recent satellite images have revealed that China is constructing a massive fusion laser complex that could potentially surpass America’s National Ignition Facility (NIF). This new infrastructure, located in Mianyang, China, has sparked concerns about its dual-purpose potential—could it be aimed at providing clean energy, or does it also signal advancements in nuclear weapons technology? The U.S. is closely monitoring this project, which could have far-reaching implications for both energy and national security.
Sticking Starlink in the House Definitely Isn't a Major National Security Risk (jalopnik.com)
In a move that absolutely everyone could have seen coming, the White House now has Starlink.
Trump to declare 'illicit' fentanyl as 'weapon of mass destruction' per draft EO (thehandbasket.co)
The heads of the US Departments of Commerce, Defense, Justice and State received a copy of a draft executive order (EO) likely sometime last week stating that President Trump would be designating “illicit” fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, The Handbasket is first to report.
UK wants dirt on data brokers before criminals get there first (theregister.com)
The UK government is inviting experts to provide insights about the data brokerage industry and the potential risks it poses to national security as it moves to push new data-sharing legislation over the line.
Repealing the CHIPS Act risks US national security (ft.com)
Repealing the Chips Act risks US national security
Drones swarming sensitive national security sites (cbsnews.com)
Last month – the head of NORAD and NORTHCOM – the military commands that defend North America – told Congress some of those mysterious drones seen flying inside the United States may indeed have been spying. He did not say for whom. 60 Minutes has been looking into a series of eerily similar incidents – going back years – including those attention getting flyovers in New Jersey recently.
Doge Cuts Reach Key Nuclear Scientists, Bomb Engineers and Safety Experts (nytimes.com)
Firings and buyouts hit the top-secret National Nuclear Security Administration amid a major effort to upgrade America’s nuclear arsenal. Critics say it shows the consequences of heedlessly cutting the federal work force.
FCC stands up Council on National Security to fight China – like CISA used to (theregister.com)
United States Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr has unveiled plans to form a Council on National Security that will combat foreign threats to American tech and telecommunications infrastructure.
Back to cash: life without money in your pocket is not the utopia Sweden hoped (theguardian.com)
Nordic countries were early adopters of digital payments. Now, electronic banking is seen as a potential threat to national security.
The US Has Invoked Alien Enemies Act (whitehouse.gov)
Tren de Aragua (TdA) is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization with thousands of members, many of whom have unlawfully infiltrated the United States and are conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States.
Musk makes secret visit to NSA after saying agency needs overhaul (gizmodo.com)
Email tells USAID workers to destroy classified docs, court asked to intervene (apnews.com)
A union for U.S. Agency for International Development contractors asked a federal judge Tuesday to intervene in any destruction of classified documents after an email ordered staffers to help burn and shred agency records.
US Army soldiers accused of selling military secrets to buyers in China (cnn.com)
Ex-NSA boss warns job cuts will have 'devastating effect' (theregister.com)
Video Looming staffing cuts to America's security and intelligence agencies, if carried out, would "have a devastating effect on cybersecurity and our national security," former NSA bigwig Rob Joyce has told House representatives.
Superintelligence Strategy (nationalsecurity.ai)
Rapid advances in AI are beginning to reshape national security.
America's National Security Wonderland (americanaffairsjournal.org)
The twenty-first century was supposed to be the new American century. The Soviet Union had been defeated, and the Western model of liberalism and free markets now stood without any serious ideological or political challengers. Yet today, a mere quarter into this once promising century, the wheels are coming off the wagon.
The Rise and Fall of America's Response to Foreign Election Meddling (lawfaremedia.org)
The administration is dismantling U.S. capacity against foreign interference despite the urgency of the work being done.
Google Ad-Tech Targets National Security Decision Makers, People with Diseases (wired.com)
A WIRED investigation into the inner workings of Google’s advertising ecosystem reveals that a wealth of sensitive information on Americans is being openly served up to some of the world’s largest brands despite the company’s own rules against it.