Pentagon Looks into Dialog Data Exposure for Unmasking National Security Officials

Data display on Dialog, and special event group written by Peter Thielrevealed information about many US national security personnel. That includes the National Security Council (NSC) intelligence chief and an active duty military officer who supports military operations, WIRED has learned. The Pentagon is now reviewing the matter.

Personal information about intelligence and the military is among the most sought after by foreign intelligence agencies, which use it to identify, monitor, and communicate with US personnel abroad and at home. For active duty officers and supporting units, exposure can increase operational risks.

The White House asked WIRED not to name the NSC director for national security reasons but declined to comment on the matter.

The Dialog exposure, which the evidence shows was supported by a maliciously edited website, including the personal information and access tokens of 222 Dialog subscribers, including current and former military and national security officials from the United States and its allies.

Among them is the head of the NSC, whose duties include advising President Donald Trump and the national security adviser on intelligence programs, and a person known in the literature as an intelligence officer with a special level of “Tier 1”.

According to the documentation, there is no history with Dialog; they were all invited and registered as new participants at the group’s retreat this August outside of Dublin, Ireland.

Dialog has internally described the exposure as a “cyberattack,” but WIRED has learned that the files appear to have been exposed due to a default on the group’s website. Anyone can create an account with an email address, log in, and access files by simply opening the home page of the group program. The discovery began with a tip first received by Swiss DJ and cyber security researcher, maia arson crimew. How far back the documents were, and who got them, is still unclear.

Federal prosecutors filed charges in 2021 on charges related to the fraud, but no arrests or convictions have been made and no other charges have been filed. In 2023, he found a copy of the US government’s No Fly List on an unsecured server and made it available to other journalists along with technical documents.

Dialog’s outside counsel wrote a letter over the weekend saying the content was “stolen” and demanding that WIRED redact the content. WIRED declined. This article does not answer the questions presented in this article.

The Dialog file on the NSC intelligence officer, a former CIA officer, includes personal information and investigative responses and is similar to his records. tech startups, actors, journalists, and hedge fund managers. Along with their date of birth, home address, mobile phone number, profile picture, and password, the file also lists their political affiliations and how they entered the invitation-only group.

The file includes what appear to be the official’s answers to Dialog’s registration questions, including personal predictions (“future spying will look at your actions more than your privacy”); book proposal (Allen Drury’s Cold War political novel Advise and Accept); and personal history.

A military officer’s profile is built on the same template, with different identifying information appearing. The file shows that he was selected to join the Dialog by another soldier who was posted to the headquarters.

WIRED is withholding the names of the NSC director and the director of military intelligence, as well as the latter’s assigned role, because identifying them could jeopardize their security and careers. The Pentagon told WIRED on Tuesday that its defense team is reviewing the matter.