Three US Departments Banned TeleMessage Over Security Fears

Three federal departments prohibited their employees from accessing TeleMessage — a message archiving app that former National Security Adviser Michael Waltz used while communicating with other members of the Trump administration — after assessments determined they weren’t secure enough, according to three people familiar with the matter.

IT chiefs at the three departments considered using TeleMessage as a way for staff members to comply with federal record retention laws while using encrypted messaging apps, according to the people. TeleMessage, owned by the Portland, Oregon-based Smarsh Inc., enables users to archive messages from the Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram apps.

The ...