Hegseth Found Using ‘Dirty Internet’ Connection (2025)

The US Secretary of Defense is once again under fire for his sloppy communications, this time for bypassing the Pentagon’s security protocols by using a personal computer and an unsecured connection for messaging on the encrypted app, Signal.

Pete Hegseth had been called out twice already for the disturbing disregard in the way he handles classified information; first for discussing sensitive war-planning information on a Signal chat that included a journalist, and then for including family members and his lawyer on the same app, unduly exposing similarly sensitive Department of Defense material.

Two people familiar with the line told The Associated Press on Thursday that sensitive defense information could have been put at risk of potential hacking by Hegseth’s use of what is referred to by techies as a “dirty” internet line. Rather than routing through a secure Pentagon network, it connects directly to the public internet, lacking the requisite security filters to protect data of critical national security interests.

Meanwhile, Hegseth confirmed to Fox News this week that his chief of staff, Joe Kasper, would move into a different role at the Pentagon, but insisted that Kasper had not been fired.

Kasper played a key part in the dismissals of deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and two others last week after they were embroiled in a leak investigation.

The void left by the departure of most of the Defense Secretary’s leading adviser has resulted in “free-for-all” in the top echelons of the Pentagon, Politico reported on Thursday.

“The wholesale turnover just 100 days into Hegseth’s tenure has been remarkable for its speed. And it has left the first-time government official without trusted staff who understand Washington — just as he faces fallout froma series of scandalsthat have led to rampant speculation inside the building about how long he’ll keep his job,” the news magazine wrote.