Pete Hegseth Registered on DFS Site as “PeteHegseth,” Sparking Security Concerns

Posted on: April 28, 2025, 11:17h. 

Last updated on: April 28, 2025, 11:55h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • Hegseth’s Sleeper.com registration raises security alarms
  • Experts warn foreign intelligence likely targeted Hegseth’s devices
  • Political fallout grows but Hegseth retains Trump’s protection

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed up to daily fantasy football site Sleeper.com using the screenname “PeteHegseth,” The New York Times has discovered.

Pete Hegseth, Sleeper.com, US Defense Secretary, National Security, Daily Fantasy Sports
Is US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s daily fantasy football habit a cause for national concern? It is when his personal cellphone number is all over the internet for the benefit of foreign intelligence agencies. (Image: ABC News)

Along with the cunningly disguised moniker, the former Fox News host gave his personal phone number when he joined the site – the same one he was using in a Signal group when information about US attacks in Yemen was accidentally shared with the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.

Hegseth registered with Sleeper.com last August, three months before he was nominated by incoming President Donald Trump for the top job at the Defense Department. The fact that the number he uses to discuss sensitive military intelligence matters is easily accessible on the internet where it is tied to his real name is nothing short of a catastrophic security failure, according to The Times.

Poor Cyber Hygiene

Sleeper.com is just one example of Hegseth’s imprudent online activity. He used the same number for WhatsApp, Facebook, Airbnb, and Microsoft Teams. The number is also linked to an email address that’s aligned to a Google Maps profile, The Times reports.

Meanwhile, less than two weeks after Hegseth joined Sleeper.com, a phone number associated with his wife, Jennifer, also became linked to the site. Hegseth is reported to have shared details about the Yemen attack in a second Signal chat with his wife, brother, and personal lawyer.

Foreign intelligence services are experts at targeting vulnerabilities in personal devices, especially ones with weak or outdated security. Experts say Hegseth’s systematic recklessness is a chilling example of how poor “cyber hygiene” could have massive, far-reaching consequences for national security.

Intelligence officials warn that these vulnerabilities could compromise not just US operations, but also the trust of allied nations who share classified information with Washington.

“There’s zero percent chance that someone hasn’t tried to install Pegasus or some other spyware on his phone,” Mike Casey, the former director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, told the Times. “He is one of the top five, probably, most targeted people in the world for espionage.”

Will Hegseth be Fired?

Phones used for private online activities, such as sign-ups to fantasy sports, are much more likely to be compromised by malware, phished, or subject to network sniffing.

While federal government officials are permitted to bring their personal devices to the office, even low-level staffers aren’t allowed to use them for work-related matters, according to Times sources.

Last week, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) added his voice to a clamor of cross-party calls for Hegseth to be fired.

I guarantee you Russia and China are all over the secretary of defense’s cellphone,” Bacon told CNN.

Hegseth, a Trump loyalist, appears to be enjoying a certain amount of political protection from the administration. Polymarket calculates the chances of Hegseth losing his job before July at just 24%.