Tulsi Gabbard, the current US Director of National Intelligence, reused the same weak password across multiple personal accounts.
Recent reports have revealed that Tulsi Gabbard, the current U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI), reused a weak password across multiple personal online accounts over several years. This practice, which contravenes established cybersecurity protocols, has raised concerns given her position overseeing national intelligence operations
Details of the Password Reuse
Investigations by WIRED, utilizing data from open-source intelligence firms District4Labs and Constella Intelligence, uncovered that Gabbard employed the same password—containing the term “shraddha”—across various personal accounts, including Gmail, Dropbox, LinkedIn, MyFitnessPal, and a now-defunct e-commerce site. These records span from 2012 to 2019 and were found in multiple data breaches. TechSpot+9WIRED+9WIRED+9TechSpot+6The Daily Beast+6WIRED+6
The term “shraddha” is believed to have personal significance to Gabbard. Reports suggest it may relate to “Shraddha Dasi,” a name allegedly given to her upon initiation into the Science of Identity Foundation, a group with which she has denied current affiliation. Cybernews+4WIRED+4International Business Times+4
Security Implications
While there is no evidence indicating that these compromised passwords were used for government accounts, the reuse of a weak password across multiple platforms poses significant security risks. Such practices can lead to unauthorized access, especially if one account is breached, potentially compromising others through credential stuffing attacks.Yahoo+5WIRED+5Cybernews+5
This revelation follows a previous incident where Gabbard was part of a Signal group chat discussing sensitive military operations, which was inadvertently exposed to a journalist. TechSpot+11WIRED+11WIRED+11
Response from Gabbard’s Office
Gabbard’s spokesperson, Olivia Coleman, addressed the findings by stating that the data breaches occurred nearly a decade ago and that all passwords have since been changed multiple times. She emphasized that Gabbard has no current affiliation with the Science of Identity Foundation and criticized attempts to link her to the group as “bigoted behavior.” Alternet.org+5The Daily Beast+5Yahoo+5Cybernews+4WIRED+4WIRED+4
Expert Recommendations
Cybersecurity experts advise against reusing passwords across different platforms. Instead, they recommend using password managers to generate and store complex, unique passwords for each account. Additionally, enabling two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security, mitigating the risk of unauthorized access even if a password is compromised. TechSpot+2WIRED+2WIRED+2TechSpot
Conclusion
The reports concerning Gabbard’s password practices underscore the importance of robust cybersecurity measures, especially for individuals in positions handling sensitive information. While the compromised accounts were personal and not linked to government systems, the incidents highlight the potential risks associated with poor password hygiene.
