Senior members of the Trump administration’s National Security Council, including top national security adviser Michael Waltz, reportedly used Gmail for official government business, as per The Washington Post. The use of personal email for government duties has raised concerns about potential security risks.

According to The Washington Post, an aide to Waltz utilized the consumer version of Gmail to discuss sensitive military matters related to an ongoing conflict with colleagues from other government agencies. In addition, Waltz himself had less sensitive information, such as schedules and work documents, sent to his personal Gmail account.

The officials cited in the report described the use of personal Gmail accounts by the national security adviser as problematic handling of sensitive information. This practice has the potential to expose government data to hackers, including those backed by other countries, who often target personal email accounts of officials to obtain classified information.

Previous incidents, such as Iran-backed hackers targeting email accounts associated with Trump’s 2020 campaign and China targeting personal accounts of Biden’s campaign staff during the 2020 election, highlight the ongoing security risks posed by the use of personal email for government communication.

This is not the first time a high-ranking official has faced scrutiny for mishandling sensitive information through personal email. In 2012, former CIA chief David Petraeus shared draft messages with his biographer using a shared Gmail account, leading to his guilty plea for retaining highly sensitive information improperly.