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Business Mayor
10-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Germany's new economy boss has a plan — and it starts with risk, speed and big bets
Global Economy May 9, 2025 09 May 2025, Bavaria, Gmund Am Tegernsee: Katherina Reiche (CDU), Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, takes part in the Ludwig Erhard Summit. Representatives from business, politics, science and the media are taking part in the three-day summit. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa (Photo by Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images) Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images Germany needs to take more risks and boost its stagnant economy with a decade of investment in infrastructure, German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Katherina Reiche said Friday. 'The next decade will be the decade of infrastructure investments in bridges, in energy infrastructure, in storage, in maritime infrastructure… telecommunication. And for this, we need speed. We need speed and investments, and we need private capital,' Reiche told CNBC's Annette Weisbach on the sidelines of the Tegernsee summit. While 10% of investments could be taken care of with public money, the remaining 90% relied on the private sector, she said. The newly minted economy minister also addressed regulation coming from Brussels, warning that it could hinder companies from investments and start-ups from growing if it is too restrictive. Germany has had to learn that investments comes with risks 'and we have to kind of be open for taking more risks,' she said. Initiating regulatory changes will in fact be one of the most important jobs for the new German government, Veronika Grimm, member of the German Council of Economic Experts, told CNBC on the sidelines of the Tegernsee summit. 'It will be important to adjust regulation, so removing or changing innovation-stifling regulation so that more is possible again in many areas of technology,' she said in comments translated by CNBC. Read More China Launches Sea and Air Drills Around Taiwan 'And then of course it is about improving the environment or businesses, making it more attractive so that we are competitive again,' Grimm said. On the edge of recession Germany's economy contracted slightly on an annual basis in both 2023 and 2024 and the quarterly gross domestic product has been flipping between growth and contraction for over two years now, just about managing to avoid a technical recession. Preliminary data for the first quarter of 2025 showed a 0.2% expansion. Forecasts do not suggest much of a reprieve from the sluggishness, with the now former German government last month saying it still expects the economy to stagnate this year. 'This country needs an economic turnaround. After two years of recessions the previous government had to announce again [a] zero growth year for 2025 and we really have to work on this. So on the top of the agenda is an investor booster,' economy minister Reiche said. Lowering energy prices, stabilizing the security of energy supply and reducing bureaucracy were among the key points on the agenda, she added. This is despite a major fiscal U-turn announced earlier this year, which included changes to the country's long-standing debt rules to allow for additional defense spending and a 500-billion-euro ($562.4 billion) infrastructure package. Several of Germany's key industries are under pressure. The auto industry for example is dealing with stark competition from China and now faces tariffs, while issues in housebuilding and infrastructure have been linked to higher costs and bureaucratic hurdles. Trade is also a key pillar for the German economy and therefore uncertainty from U.S. President Donald Trump's changing tariff policies are weighing heavily on the outlook. READ SOURCE
Business Mayor
28-04-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
From mining giants to Big Oil, major players are jumping on the 'white hydrogen' bandwagon
The construction site of a plant for the production of hydrogen in Germany. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images A growing number of sizable companies, from mining giants to energy majors, are embracing the hype for natural hydrogen. It comes as buzz continues to build over the potential for a resource that advocates say could radically reshape the global energy landscape. Natural hydrogen, sometimes known as white, gold or geologic hydrogen, refers to hydrogen gas that is found in its natural form beneath Earth's surface. The long-overlooked resource, first discovered by accident in Mali nearly 40 years ago, contains no carbon and produces only water when burned. Investor interest in the nascent natural hydrogen sector has been intensifying in recent months, fueling optimism initially driven by research startups and junior exploration companies. Over the past year or so, some of the sector's established backers include mining giants Rio Tinto and Fortescue, Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom, the venture capital arm of British oil giant BP and Bill Gates' clean tech investment fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures. We can use it to make metals, make fuels, you could even make food, and all with far fewer emissions than conventional approaches. Eric Toone Chief technology officer at Breakthrough Energy Exploratory efforts are currently underway in several countries across the globe, with Canada and the U.S. leading the way in terms of project counts over the last year, according to research published by consultancy Rystad Energy. Analysts expect the year ahead to be a pivotal one, with industry players hoping their exploration campaigns can soon locate the elusive gas. Not everyone's convinced about the clean energy potential of natural hydrogen, however, with critics flagging environmental concerns and distribution challenges. For its part, the International Energy Agency has warned there is a possibility that the resource 'is too scattered to be captured in a way that is economically viable.' A global scramble for 'white gold' Minh Khoi Le, head of hydrogen research at Rystad Energy, said it's difficult to predict whether natural hydrogen can live up to its promise in 2025. 'I guess last year was the year that things got really interesting for the natural hydrogen space because that's when many companies started to plan drilling campaigns, extraction testing and we started to see some major players start to get involved as well,' Le told CNBC by video call. 'Since then, I would say the progress has been relatively slow. There are only a few companies that have actually started drilling,' he added. Gauges that are part of the electrolysis plant of the geological hydrogen H2 storage facility. Alex Halada | Afp | Getty Images Rystad's Le, who characterized the global pursuit of natural hydrogen as a 'white gold rush' last year, said that while there'd been no major progress over the last 12 months, an upswing in investor interest could help to deliver some meaningful results. 'Now, we are starting to see companies getting investment, so they have money to fund their drilling campaigns. So, if we are to get an answer of whether this thing will work, we'll get to that conclusion a bit faster this year,' Le said. Hydrogen has long been billed as one of many potential energy sources that could play a key role in the energy transition, but most of it is produced using fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, a process that generates significant greenhouse gas emissions. Green hydrogen, a process that involves splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity, is one exception to the hydrogen color rainbow. However, its development has been held back by soaring costs and a challenging economic environment. Clean, homegrown energy Australia's HyTerra announced an investment of $21.9 million from Fortescue in August last year, noting that the proceeds would be used to fully fund expanded exploration projects. A spokesperson for Fortescue, one of the leading green hydrogen developers, said its push into the natural hydrogen sector was in line with its 'strategic commitment to exploring zero emissions fuels.' Read More Chevron to buy oil and gas producer Hess in $53bn all-stock deal Acknowledging that more work is required to fully assess natural hydrogen's emissions profile, Fortescue's spokesperson described the technology as a 'promising opportunity' to accelerate industrial decarbonization. A hydrogen-powered haul truck, right, at the Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. Christmas Creek mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, Australia, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Elsewhere, BP Ventures, the venture capital arm of BP, led a Series A funding round of U.K.-based natural hydrogen exploration startup Snowfox Discovery earlier this year, while France-based start-up Mantle8 recently received 3.4 million euros ($3.9 million) in seed funding from investors, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate and technology fund founded by Bill Gates in 2015. Eric Toone, chief technology officer at Breakthrough Energy, said the fund had backed the likes of Mantle8 and U.S.-based startup Koloma because the promise of natural hydrogen is such that it 'could unlock a new era of clean, homegrown energy.' 'Hydrogen is pure reactive chemical energy. If we have enough hydrogen and it's cheap enough, we can do almost anything. We can use it to make metals, make fuels, you could even make food, and all with far fewer emissions than conventional approaches,' Toone told CNBC via email. 'We know it's out there and not just in isolated pockets. Early exploration has identified natural hydrogen across six continents. The challenge now is figuring out how to extract it efficiently, move it safely, and build the systems to put it to work,' he added. In search of the 'eureka moment' Aurian Durbuis, chief of staff at France's Mantle8, said momentum certainly appears to be building from a venture capital perspective. 'There is a growing interest, indeed, especially given the dynamics with green hydrogen right now, unfortunately. People are turning their eyes to other solutions, which is in our favor,' Durbuis told CNBC by video call. Taking the evolution of US shale-gas as an analogy, even if large finds are made, it will likely take decades to achieve industrial production. Arnout Everts Member of the Hydrogen Science Coalition Based in Grenoble, in the foothills of the French Alps, Mantle8 is targeting the discovery of 10 million tons of natural hydrogen by 2030 to complement the European Union's goals. Read More Ohio solar projects face an unclear path around local opposition 'The question is can we find producible reservoirs, in the oil and gas terminology. That's really what we need to figure out as an industry,' Durbuis said. 'We think we can drill in 2028 and hopefully that is the eureka moment because if we can find something at that time, then it could obviously be a game changer. If we find highly concentrated hydrogen, with pressure, then this just changes everything,' he added. What's next for natural hydrogen? The Hydrogen Science Coalition, a group of academics, scientists and engineers seeking to bring an evidence-based view to hydrogen's role in the energy transition, said exploration for natural hydrogen is still at an 'embryonic stage' — but even so, the likelihood of locating large finds of nearly pure hydrogen that can be extracted at scale look 'relatively slim.' The world's only producing hydrogen well in Mali, for example, supplies 'just a fraction of the daily energy output of a single wind turbine,' Arnout Everts, a geoscientist and member of the Hydrogen Science Coalition, told CNBC via email. The team from the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) took samples of natural hydrogen gas found in One Pute Jaya Village, Morowali Regency, Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, 23 October 2023. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images 'Taking the evolution of US shale-gas as an analogy, even if large finds are made, it will likely take decades to achieve industrial production,' Everts said. Ultimately, the Hydrogen Science Coalition said the pursuit of natural hydrogen risks distracting focus from the renewable hydrogen needed to decarbonize industries today.
CNBC
28-04-2025
- Business
- CNBC
From mining giants to Big Oil, major players are jumping on the 'white hydrogen' bandwagon
The construction site of a plant for the production of hydrogen in Germany. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images A growing number of sizable companies, from mining giants to energy majors, are embracing the hype for natural hydrogen. It comes as buzz continues to build over the potential for a resource that advocates say could radically reshape the global energy landscape. Natural hydrogen, sometimes known as white, gold or geologic hydrogen, refers to hydrogen gas that is found in its natural form beneath Earth's surface. The long-overlooked resource, first discovered by accident in Mali nearly 40 years ago, contains no carbon and produces only water when burned. Investor interest in the nascent natural hydrogen sector has been intensifying in recent months, fueling optimism initially driven by research startups and junior exploration companies. Over the past year or so, some of the sector's established backers include mining giants Rio Tinto and Fortescue, Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom, the venture capital arm of British oil giant BP and Bill Gates' clean tech investment fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures. We can use it to make metals, make fuels, you could even make food, and all with far fewer emissions than conventional approaches. Eric Toone Chief technology officer at Breakthrough Energy Exploratory efforts are currently underway in several countries across the globe, with Canada and the U.S. leading the way in terms of project counts over the last year, according to research published by consultancy Rystad Energy. Analysts expect the year ahead to be a pivotal one, with industry players hoping their exploration campaigns can soon locate the elusive gas. Not everyone's convinced about the clean energy potential of natural hydrogen, however, with critics flagging environmental concerns and distribution challenges. For its part, the International Energy Agency has warned there is a possibility that the resource "is too scattered to be captured in a way that is economically viable." A global scramble for 'white gold' Minh Khoi Le, head of hydrogen research at Rystad Energy, said it's difficult to predict whether natural hydrogen can live up to its promise in 2025. "I guess last year was the year that things got really interesting for the natural hydrogen space because that's when many companies started to plan drilling campaigns, extraction testing and we started to see some major players start to get involved as well," Le told CNBC by video call. "Since then, I would say the progress has been relatively slow. There are only a few companies that have actually started drilling," he added. Gauges that are part of the electrolysis plant of the geological hydrogen H2 storage facility. Alex Halada | Afp | Getty Images Rystad's Le, who characterized the global pursuit of natural hydrogen as a "white gold rush" last year, said that while there'd been no major progress over the last 12 months, an upswing in investor interest could help to deliver some meaningful results. "Now, we are starting to see companies getting investment, so they have money to fund their drilling campaigns. So, if we are to get an answer of whether this thing will work, we'll get to that conclusion a bit faster this year," Le said. Hydrogen has long been billed as one of many potential energy sources that could play a key role in the energy transition, but most of it is produced using fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, a process that generates significant greenhouse gas emissions. Green hydrogen, a process that involves splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity, is one exception to the hydrogen color rainbow. However, its development has been held back by soaring costs and a challenging economic environment. Clean, homegrown energy Australia's HyTerra announced an investment of $21.9 million from Fortescue in August last year, noting that the proceeds would be used to fully fund expanded exploration projects. A spokesperson for Fortescue, one of the leading green hydrogen developers, said its push into the natural hydrogen sector was in line with its "strategic commitment to exploring zero emissions fuels." Acknowledging that more work is required to fully assess natural hydrogen's emissions profile, Fortescue's spokesperson described the technology as a "promising opportunity" to accelerate industrial decarbonization. A hydrogen-powered haul truck, right, at the Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. Christmas Creek mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, Australia, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Elsewhere, BP Ventures, the venture capital arm of BP, led a Series A funding round of U.K.-based natural hydrogen exploration startup Snowfox Discovery earlier this year, while France-based start-up Mantle8 recently received 3.4 million euros ($3.9 million) in seed funding from investors, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate and technology fund founded by Bill Gates in 2015. Eric Toone, chief technology officer at Breakthrough Energy, said the fund had backed the likes of Mantle8 and U.S.-based startup Koloma because the promise of natural hydrogen is such that it "could unlock a new era of clean, homegrown energy." "Hydrogen is pure reactive chemical energy. If we have enough hydrogen and it's cheap enough, we can do almost anything. We can use it to make metals, make fuels, you could even make food, and all with far fewer emissions than conventional approaches," Toone told CNBC via email. "We know it's out there and not just in isolated pockets. Early exploration has identified natural hydrogen across six continents. The challenge now is figuring out how to extract it efficiently, move it safely, and build the systems to put it to work," he added. In search of the 'eureka moment' Aurian Durbuis, chief of staff at France's Mantle8, said momentum certainly appears to be building from a venture capital perspective. "There is a growing interest, indeed, especially given the dynamics with green hydrogen right now, unfortunately. People are turning their eyes to other solutions, which is in our favor," Durbuis told CNBC by video call. Taking the evolution of US shale-gas as an analogy, even if large finds are made, it will likely take decades to achieve industrial production. Arnout Everts Member of the Hydrogen Science Coalition Based in Grenoble, in the foothills of the French Alps, Mantle8 is targeting the discovery of 10 million tons of natural hydrogen by 2030 to complement the European Union's goals. "The question is can we find producible reservoirs, in the oil and gas terminology. That's really what we need to figure out as an industry," Durbuis said. "We think we can drill in 2028 and hopefully that is the eureka moment because if we can find something at that time, then it could obviously be a game changer. If we find highly concentrated hydrogen, with pressure, then this just changes everything," he added. What's next for natural hydrogen? The Hydrogen Science Coalition, a group of academics, scientists and engineers seeking to bring an evidence-based view to hydrogen's role in the energy transition, said exploration for natural hydrogen is still at an "embryonic stage" — but even so, the likelihood of locating large finds of nearly pure hydrogen that can be extracted at scale look "relatively slim." The world's only producing hydrogen well in Mali, for example, supplies "just a fraction of the daily energy output of a single wind turbine," Arnout Everts, a geoscientist and member of the Hydrogen Science Coalition, told CNBC via email. The team from the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) took samples of natural hydrogen gas found in One Pute Jaya Village, Morowali Regency, Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, 23 October 2023. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images "Taking the evolution of US shale-gas as an analogy, even if large finds are made, it will likely take decades to achieve industrial production," Everts said. Ultimately, the Hydrogen Science Coalition said the pursuit of natural hydrogen risks distracting focus from the renewable hydrogen needed to decarbonize industries today.
Buzz Feed
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
55 Super Creepy Pictures Of Abandoned Places That Are Giving Me The Chills
Have you ever driven past an abandoned house or mall and wondered what's left? Urban explorers are people who actually venture inside. And while you may be too afraid to actually enter an abandoned place yourself, the photos are utterly fascinating. Here are 55 creepy pictures from abanonded places: 1. This decaying kindergarten in Kopachi, a ghost town near Chernobyl: 2. The deserted swim hall at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Village: 3. A cabinet of autopsy results in Ospedale al Mare, an abandoned hospital in Venice: 4. This abandoned home in New Orleans: 5. This abandoned Hollywood Hills mansion, which once belonged to John Powers Middleton (whose billionaire father owns the Phillies): 6. This strange graffiti inside a deserted school: 7. The abandoned Galaxy Ghost Ship Hotel, from the Koh Chang Laguna resort in Thailand: 8. And here's the Galaxy after it caught on fire in 2024: 9. And here's a close-up: 10. These abandoned homes that have been reclaimed by nature in China: 11. These forlorn UFO-shaped houses in Taiwan: 12. And a closer look inside one of the UFOs: 13. This hallway in the old hospital wing on Ellis Island: 14. Inside the allegedly haunted Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville: 15. This forgotten chateau in France: 16. And inside the chateau's dining room: 17. Decaying decor from the shutdown theme park Wonderland Eurasia in Turkey: 18. And more ruins from Wonderland Eurasia: 19. This abandoned Range Rover in the woods of England: 20. And here's a look inside the car: 21. This crumbling Alpenhaus at Beelitz-Heilstätten, an old lung sanatorium in Germany: 22. The derelict dining room inside the Alpenhaus: 23. Vela Gialla, a skyscraper that was reportedly the Neapolitan mafia's stronghold in Italy: 24. Savaşan village, a sunken city in Turkey that's underwater because of a dam that was built: 25. This field of forsaken electric cars in China: 26. This forlorn factory in Germany: 27. These derelict phonebooths in London: 28. This forgotten bike-sharing yard in China: 29. This deserted house on Sazan Island in Albania: 30. This deserted motel along Route 66 in California: 31. This empty pool inside an abandoned Soviet mining settlement: Picture Alliance / dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images 32. This sailboat in Panama that the fish have reclaimed: MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP via Getty Images 33. This abandoned playboy mansion: Thomas Weakley / Via 34. The decaying Fort Wayne Hotel ballroom in Detroit: Timothy Fadek / Corbis via Getty Images 35. This vacant village in in Germany: Picture Alliance / dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images 36. This empty pool at a mansion that used to belong to a police chief in Mexico: Univision Noticias / Via 37. This deserted pub in London: Carl Court / Getty Images 38. This waterlogged mall in Bangkok: Nurphoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images 39. This forsaken train station in Spain: VW Pics / VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images 40. This room filled with gas masks at Chernobyl: Bildagentur-online / Universal Images Group via Getty Images 41. Inside the auditorium of an abandoned high school in Detroit: Timothy Fadek / Corbis via Getty Images 42. A derelict doctor's office in the ghost town of Humberstone, Chile: VW Pics / VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images 43. And this old church in Humberstone: Anadolu / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images 44. These abandoned mascots from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games: GREG BAKER / AFP via Getty Images 45. This deserted mall in North Macedonia: Pierre Crom / Getty Images 46. This preschool that was left behind in Pripyat after Chernobyl: Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images 47. This decaying swing ride at an abandoned amusement park in Cyprus: AMIR MAKAR / AFP via Getty Images 48. These old Soviet space shuttles that were left inside an old launch site in Kazakhstan: Scott Peterson / Getty Images 49. This crumbling church in England: Heritage Images / Getty Images 50. This pool in a deserted mansion: Strange Places / Via 51. The shopping carts rusting inside an abandoned supermarket in the ghost town of Pripyat, Ukraine: Sean Gallup / Getty Images 52. This decaying motel in the California desert: David McNew / Getty Images 53. This abandoned power station in London: Jim Dyson / Getty Images Jim Dyson / Getty Images 54. The desolate restaurant in the Plimhimmon Hotel in Maryland: Aladdin Color Inc / Getty Images 55. And finally, this abandoned admin office in Norway: OLIVIER MORIN / AFP via Getty Images Have you ever been urban exploring? What did you find? Share your experiences in the comments!
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What Is Signal, the App Used by Trump Staff, and Is It Safe?
The Signal app on a smartphone. Credit - Matthias Balk/Picture Alliance—Getty Images The Trump administration is facing heavy blowback for using Signal, a messaging app, to discuss sensitive military plans. On March 24, officials' usage of the app was revealed after The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg published a story titled "The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans," in which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, among others, discussed upcoming military strikes on Yemen. The U.S. government previously discouraged federal employees from using the app for official business. Some experts have speculated that sharing sensitive national security details over Signal could be illegal, and Democratic lawmakers have demanded an investigation. 'If our nation's military secrets are being peddled around over unsecure text chains, we need to know that at once,' New York Democrat Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor. Signal is one of the most secure and private messaging platforms that exists for general public use. But cybersecurity experts argue that the app should not have been used for this level of sensitive communication. 'Signal is a very robust app: a lot of cybersecurity professionals use it for our communications that we want to protect,' says Michael Daniel, president and CEO of the Cyber Threat Alliance and a cybersecurity coordinator under President Obama. 'But it's not as secure as government communications channels. And the use of these kinds of channels increases the risk that something is going to go wrong.' Signal was launched in 2014, with the goal of creating a privacy-preserving messaging platform in an age of increasing mass surveillance. Signal conversations are protected by end-to-end encryption, a technique that makes it extremely hard for a third party to intercept or decipher private messages. While other messaging tools may collect sensitive personal data, Signal prides itself on securely protecting information such as messaging contacts, frequency, and duration. The app has other privacy features, such as automatically disappearing messages after a set period and preventing screenshots of conversations. Signal data is stored locally on user's devices, not the company's servers. 'Our goal is that everyone in the world can pick up their device, and without thinking twice about it, or even having an ideological commitment to privacy, use Signal to communicate with anyone they want,' Signal President Meredith Whittaker told TIME in 2022. Read More: Signal's President Meredith Whittaker Shares What's Next for the Private Messaging App Over the last few years, Signal has been used by dissidents and protestors around the world who want to keep their conversations safe from political enemies or law enforcement. In Ukraine, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv described Signal as critical to their work in its ability to ensure secure, rapid, and easily accessible communications. The app now has 70 million users worldwide, according to the tracking site Business of Apps. The usage of Signal for government purposes is more contentious. In 2021, the Pentagon scolded a former official for using Signal, saying that it did not comply with the Freedom of Information Act, which decrees the government has legal obligations to maintain federal records. Goldberg, however, reported this week that the Trump officials' Signal chat was set to automatically delete messages after a period of time. Sam Vinograd, who served in former President Barack Obama's Homeland Security Department, told CBS that sharing sensitive security details over Signal could violate the Espionage Act as well. Top intelligence officials testified this week that no classified information was shared over the group chat. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said that Signal was a 'permissible work-use application' for the CIA. Read More: Top Trump Officials Defend Signal Chat in Testimony to Congress Last week, a Pentagon advisory cautioned military personnel against using Signal due to Russian hackers targeting the app. The Cyber Threat Alliance's Daniel says that he was surprised that top officials were using Signal, given that they have access to government-specific channels that are more secure. When discussing sensitive information, officials are typically required to do so in designated, secure areas called Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs), or to use SIPRNet, a secure network used by the Defense and State Departments. 'These are very senior officials who have a lot of options. They have people whose entire jobs are is to make sure that they're able to communicate at all times,' Daniel says. 'We've had that for decades now, and those procedures are really well honed.' Daniel contends that government tools could have prevented what went wrong in this instance: the human error of an outside party mistakenly being added to a message chain. He says that government channels have a 'much higher level of authentication' to ensure that members of communication channels are supposed to have access. Dave Chronister, the CEO of the cybersecurity company Parameter Security, says that the government's bespoke communications channels prevent other kinds of interlopers or hackers attempting to use phishing or malware techniques to learn information. 'If you're on a cell phone, I don't know who could be looking over my shoulder to see what I'm typing, not to mention I don't know what else is on that mobile device,' he says. Chronister adds that officials' use of Signal, as opposed to internal channels, also makes it harder for the government to identify and contain breaches once they've happened. 'We could have data out there we didn't know was compromised,' he says. 'If top cabinet officials are using Signal, I'm wondering how much is being done on a daily basis—and I think there's going to be a lot more fallout from this.' A representative for Signal did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Contact us at letters@
