Mother Jones illustration; Aaron Schwartz\/CNP\/Zuma; White House<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Imagine working as<\/span> a White House communications expert when, on a brisk February morning, you look up to see a crew of unannounced Elon Musk associates climbing the roof of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. You squint and quickly learn that this unit belongs to Starlink, the very company you had identified as posing serious security concerns. But there they are, scaling the roof to install internet service for the White House.<\/p>\n That\u2019s essentially the scenario outlined in a stunning new report from the Washington Post<\/a><\/em> today, alleging that DOGE and Trump administration officials outright dismissed concerns from the White House\u2019s communications team that Musk\u2019s Starlink internet service was rampant with security risks. That reportedly included an exceedingly flimsy WiFi network that could rival your own personal setup:<\/p>\n A \u201cStarlink Guest\u201d WiFi network appeared on White House phones in February, prompting users only for a password, not a username or a second form of authentication, according to the people. That WiFi network was still appearing on White House visitors\u2019 phones this week.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The government\u2019s reliance on Starlink is not new. On the contrary, the US depends on Musk\u2019s business heavily, throughout vast corners of our military and national security a<\/a>pparatus. But the Post<\/em>\u2018s reporting once again demonstrates the stunning authority with which DOGE and Musk, at least before his spectacular blowup with the president<\/a> this week, have been able to wield within the Trump administration. This latest revelation is just the latest national security red flag to come from the Trump administration: the Qatar plane<\/a>, Pete Hegseth\u2019s entire personality<\/a>, confirmed hackers<\/a>, etc.<\/p>\n Starlink is now one of several government contracts that could be on the chopping block now that President Trump and Musk are on the outs. (This, regardless of what you think of Musk, would pull the feud into blatantly lawless territory<\/a>.) But regardless of the fate of Musk and Starlink, the core stupidity of Trump\u2019s White House remains intact. Don\u2019t be too surprised to see unannounced workers have started climbing the rooftop once again. <\/p>\n<\/article><\/div>\n\n
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