Pentagon's Secret Phone Setup: A Risky Move?

A recent report revealed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had a special setup installed in his Pentagon office. This setup allowed him to use his personal cell phone inside a secure area, which is usually not allowed. The report comes from an investigation into Hegseth's use of the Signal app. He shared sensitive information about US airstrikes in Yemen through this app. The investigation found that this could have put US military personnel at risk. The setup, installed in late February 2025, let Hegseth access his personal phone from inside his office. It connected his phone to a keyboard, mouse, and monitor outside the office. This way, he could use his phone without bringing it inside the secure space. The Pentagon has rules against bringing personal phones into secure areas. The report couldn't say for sure if this setup followed those rules because it was removed by late April 2025. Hegseth said he wanted this setup to make it easier to receive personal messages during work. He claimed it was a secure way to do this. The Pentagon's communications team agreed that it didn't break the rules because the phone wasn't physically inside the secure area. The investigation started after a journalist was accidentally added to a group chat where Hegseth shared sensitive information. The report concluded that this could have endangered US military personnel if the information was intercepted by adversaries. Hegseth had said that the information he shared wouldn't put troops or the mission at risk. But the investigation found that his actions could have compromised the mission and put pilots in danger.