Canada's ex-spy chief says White House response to Signal leak threatens 'Five Eyes' security
Source: The Guardian
Wed 26 Mar 2025 13.22 EDT
Last modified on Wed 26 Mar 2025 13.43 EDT
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi points to text messages by Pete Hegseth during a House hearing in Washington DC on Wednesday. Photograph: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Canada’s former spy chief has said the Trump administration’s attempts to downplay the leak of top-secret attack plans is a “very worrying” development, with implications for broader intelligence sharing among US allies.
On Wednesday, the Atlantic magazine published new and detailed messages from a group chat, including plans for US bombings, drone launches and targeting information of the assault, including descriptions of weather conditions. Among the recipients of the messages was a prominent journalist, who was inadvertently added to the group.
“This is very worrying. Canada needs to think about what this means in practical terms: is the United States prepared to protect our secrets, as we are bound to protect theirs?” said Richard Fadden, the former head of Canada’s intelligence agency. “Every country has experienced leaks, of varying severity. The problem with this one is that it’s being generated at the highest levels of the US government – and they haven’t admitted that it’s a problem.”
Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand have for decades shared intelligence in a pact informally known as the Five Eyes. But the leak of classified information is likely to put further strain on the group as it weighs how seriously the current American administration takes the handling of top secret information.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/26/canada-five-eyes-security-signal-leak-white-house-response
= new reply since forum marked as read
either deliberately or stupidly and unwittingly. Plan accordingly, former allies.
