The federal government suspects that Russia is behind a recent phishing campaign targeting the messaging service Signal. Among the reported victims are several prominent figures, including Ministers Verena Hubertz (SPD) and Karin Prien (CDU), as well as Bundestag President Julia Klöckner.
Sources within the government confirmed to “Spiegel” that the attack is allegedly traced back to Russia. This accusation follows previous warnings from Dutch intelligence services, which had already attributed similar attacks to “Russian state actors”. Furthermore, the FBI had warned in March about actors linked to Russian intelligence seeking to breach accounts on commercial messaging platforms.
According to government officials, every individual whose account was compromised has since been notified by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). They reported that affected devices were inspected and measures were taken to stop any potential data leakage.
Authorities estimate that the attack was aimed at a wide spectrum of people within political circles. The compromised Signal accounts reportedly targeted not only government and parliamentary figures, but also political think tanks, journalists, intelligence agency employees, and military personnel.
Regarding the potential involvement of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, officials remained non-committal, stating they could not comment on “the way we communicate within the federal government”. However, the deputy government spokesperson, Sebastian Hille, stressed that this principle applies generally, particularly concerning communication methods and telecommunication channels. He added a strong reassurance that “the communication of the federal government, the Chancellor, and the ministers runs on secure channels”.
