The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) have issued a warning about a wave of attacks that they believe are carried out by state‑backed cyber actors. In a letter to members of the German Bundestag-reported by Der Spiegel-the agencies say that high‑ranking targets in politics, the military and diplomacy, as well as investigative journalists across Germany and Europe, are the focus of these hackers.
The attackers aim to intercept the messages of their victims on the messenger app Signal, which is widely used by journalists and politicians because it is regarded as highly secure. Chats and calls on Signal are encrypted, yet the BSI and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution have demonstrated phishing methods that can gain access to a victim’s Signal account.
According to the authorities, the campaign is “particularly security‑relevant with respect to high‑profile targets”. A successful compromise of a messenger account would not only expose confidential private communications but could also compromise entire networks through group chats. The data obtained could then be leveraged for further intelligence or criminal activities.
