Report finds weak cybersecurity at Mar-a-Lago

Wireless networks at Trump properties — including his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he regularly spends weekends — sport weak internet security that could leave them vulnerable to hackers, according to a new report by ProPublica and Gizmodo.

The two news outlets found the vulnerabilities when they attempted to access Wi-Fi networks at Mar-a-Lago, Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey, Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., and Trump National Golf Club in Virginia. 

They found a handful of networks and devices with weak or absent security settings that could leave the properties open to hacks. 

“Those networks all have to be crawling with foreign intruders,” digital security executive Dave Aitel, of Immunity Inc., told the news organizations. 

The report argued that the poor security could allow hackers to access the networks to take control of connected equipment to use as recording devices or hack printers to copy and send any document that came through the machine to an outside source. 

That could pose national security concerns, since Trump regularly conducts presidential business while at his properties. Trump has met with both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his properties. 

The meeting with Abe at Mar-a-Lago was interrupted with news of North Korea conducting a missile test, which led to reports that sensitive information was discussed in public during dinner at the club. 

Trump Organization spokeswoman Amanda Miller pushed back at the characterization by Gizmodo and ProPublica, arguing that properties follow “cybersecurity best practices.”

“Like virtually every other company these days, we are routinely targeted by cyberterrorists whose only focus is to inflict harm on great American businesses. While we will not comment on specific security measures, we are confident in the steps we have taken to protect our business and safeguard our information. Our teams work diligently to deploy best-in-class firewall and anti-vulnerability platforms with constant 24/7 monitoring,” she told the news outlets.