The recent unauthorized disclosure of military operations from a private group chat has reinforced the argument that such discussions should only occur within a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. And while that may be true, it raises a critical question: how secure are SCIFs, really?

Like the one I worked at in the House Intelligence Committee, many government facilities, including SCIFs and Special Access Program Facilities, have “No Electronic Device” policies and signs to protect the nation’s secrets.