A security breach during the raids on Iran? The connected bracelet of Donald Trump’s chief of staff questions

A photo that surprised more than one. The White House released images on Saturday showing Donald Trump and his closest advisers following American and Israeli military operations in Iran on Saturday February 28. Among them, the American president’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who wore a connected bracelet.

Very quickly, Internet users questioned the advisability of wearing an object likely to transmit confidential data during such a sensitive operation.

Especially since Donald Trump, who prefers to spend the majority of his time at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, was not in Washington’s “Situation room” during Operation “Epic Fury” (also called “Roaring Lion”). The location where the photos were taken was not specified. We only know that he was in a building with wooden beams in a room delimited by black curtains.

In addition to GPS, connected bracelets can be equipped with a microphone. “I asked the White House about the comments claiming that Wiles had violated security rules by wearing an Apple Watch, and I was told that it was not a security rule, so there was no threat of violation,” said Marc Caputo, journalist for the American site Axios on X.

“It does not integrate a microphone or GPS”, defends the manufacturer of the bracelet

The brand of the bracelet has been identified: it is Whoop. According to the manufacturer, it collects data to help wearers sleep better, optimize their workouts and “boost their longevity”. The founder of the company, Will Ahmed, himself answered questions from Internet users.

“It has no microphone, no GPS, no cellular capability, and has long been on the NSA (National Security Agency) approved Personal Electronic Device (PED) list,” he wrote on the social network X.

The NSA, a government agency responsible in particular for the information security of the American government’s information systems, probably authorized it due to the absence of a 4G or 5 chip or devices allowing it to record what is said, explains BFMTV.

The Whoop founder adds: “Given her performance today, it is likely that (Susie Wiles) had a green recovery, low resting heart rate (RHR) and high heart variability (HRV). »