Secret Service agents have put U.S. officials and national security at risk by routinely using personal smartphones, laptops and other mobile devices with unsecured messaging apps to carry out operations, making them vulnerable to hackers, according to a federal watchdog report.

The report, part of a review of security issues stemming from the attempted assassination of President Trump in Pennsylvania two years ago, blamed outdated or glitchy apps in government-issued devices for prompting on-duty agents to use their own phones and laptops.

Read the Wall Street Journal’s coverage of this topic in their article, “Secret Service Agents’ Smartphones Raise Security Risks,” where Veilant’s Mike Stokes, SVP, Emerging Technology, provided his perspective on this topic.

Michael Stokes, a former senior Central Intelligence Agency officer, said the use of personal devices at the agency is an operational failing, rather than a disciplinary issue. “If government-furnished equipment does not let agents communicate with local law enforcement, foreign partners, drivers, embassy personnel, or other mission partners in real time, people will find a workaround,” said Stokes, who now leads strategic growth at Veilant, a secure-communications and private-network firm.