Inconceivable

Calling messages unclassified is 'inconceivable' 

Nomia Iqbal

I've been talking to Glenn Gerstell - the former general counsel of the National Security Agency (NSA) from 2015 to 2020 - serving under President Obama and President Trump.

After seeing the new Atlantic story that includes the full text exchange he said: "The idea this wasn’t classified information at the time is inconceivable. I don't know if they declassified it afterwards but any imminent military action involving American troops would have been classified at the time."

Gerstell is an expert on cybersecurity and the role of technology in national security and privacy. I ask him about the issue of using Signal.

"It shouldn't really be used. All official business, particularly when it comes to the departments of defense, state, national security, should only be done on approved devices as well. That is the general rule. If information was classified as it seems to be in this case, there are even more strict rules about that. The problem with signal is if it's on an insecure advice, like a personal phone, it’s entirely possible for the comms to be intercepted before they get to the point of encryption."

The White House has said the strikes were successful as a way of responding to the concerns about the breach of national security.

But Gerstell says the issue isn’t about the strikes and that nothing went wrong.

"It can't possibly be the case that the test of - if a communication is appropriate - is that something bad didn't happen."