System installed in February: Report: Starlink poses security risk to White House

The White House relies on Elon Musk's Starlink system for its communications. It will be installed on a neighboring building in February. Guests can access the Wi-Fi without any major hurdles. According to a report, this poses a security risk. It's also unclear where data ends up.

Officials from the DOGE government and the Trump administration allegedly ignored important security issues surrounding communications at the White House. The Washington Post reports this, citing three people familiar with the matter. According to the report, potential security vulnerabilities were ignored during the installation of Elon Musk's Starlink system around the White House.

According to the reports, DOGE representatives installed a Starlink terminal on the roof of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in February without informing the White House Communications Administration. The Eisenhower Executive Office Building is located directly next to the White House and is part of the White House Complex. The Communications Administration cannot monitor connections through this terminal, the sources say. Therefore, it cannot verify whether sensitive data is leaving the complex or whether hackers are penetrating it.

According to the Washington Post, it's unclear whether the terminal will remain after Elon Musk stepped down from his role as the Trump administration's chief savings officer. So far, that doesn't appear to be the case. A "Starlink Guest" Wi-Fi connection has been in place since February, and this is said to still be in place. According to the report, using it only requires entering a password. A username or additional authentication is not required.

Secret Service sees no security incident

The White House did not respond to inquiries from the Washington Post, but referred the matter to the U.S. Secret Service. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said: "We were aware of DOGE's intentions to improve internet access on campus and did not consider this matter a security incident or breach."

It's actually standard practice at the White House for private phones on guest Wi-Fi to require names and passwords. These can be tracked, and access authorization would expire after a week, employees explained. Work computers are locked with security programs, and employees' interactions with the outside world are "very thoroughly tracked." Device identifiers and all transmission times are recorded, a former government official told the newspaper.

Starlink, on the other hand, "requires nothing. It allows the transmission of data without any kind of recording or tracking," the employee continued. "The White House's IT systems had very strict controls on network access. You had to be connected to a VPN at all times. If you're not on the VPN, White House devices can't connect to the outside world." VPN stands for virtual private network.

"With a Starlink connection, White House devices could leave the network and go outside through gateways. It will help them bypass security," another source told the newspaper. Elon Musk's company has not yet responded to inquiries. However, it has repeatedly stated in the past that Starlink connections are harder to hack.

White House needs Wi-Fi

A former White House staffer raised concerns about potential security vulnerabilities with Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. Starlink also did not respond to their request, according to the Washington Post. "It (the Starlink system) could have the potential to undermine our national security by exposing sensitive data and information to hackers, our adversaries, or those who would harm Americans," said Stephen F. Lynch, the committee's top Democrat.

While the intelligence community could ban phones from its buildings for security reasons, the White House must allow them for important calls and emails. However, because the White House is a central location for espionage operations from around the world, communications there are among the most heavily monitored in the country, according to the Washington Post.

According to the New York Times, the installation of the Starlink terminal also led to a dispute between the Dogecoin department and the Secret Service. How White House staff responded to the situation remains unclear.

However, according to the Washington Post, the system is also being used in other government agencies. An employee of the National Labor Relations Board, an agency that oversees employee-employer relations, reported this. A former employee of the General Services Administration confirmed to the newspaper that DOGE employees had been using the Starlink system at least until the end of May.

According to the Washington Post, it's unclear why DOGE employees relied so heavily on the Starlink system for communications. However, the department is trying to gain comprehensive access to data in numerous agencies. They have relied on artificial intelligence in some cases. Furthermore, the newspaper reports, they have disabled logging so their work cannot be documented.