The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz) and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) warn of an impending wave of attacks by likely state‑backed cyber actors. This warning originates from a letter to members of the Bundestag that Spiegel has reported. The letter states that the hackers are targeting high‑ranking figures in politics, the military, diplomacy, and investigative journalists across Germany and Europe.
These attackers aim to intercept the victims’ messages on the Signal messenger app, which many journalists and politicians use because it is considered highly secure. While chats and calls within the app are encrypted, the BSI and Verfassungsschutz claim the hackers have found ways to reach victims’ Signal accounts through phishing.
The authorities describe the campaign as especially security‑relevant when senior targets are involved. A successful hack of a messenger account would allow access not only to private one‑to‑one communications but could also potentially compromise entire networks via group chats. These insights could be used for further intelligence or criminal actions.
