Julia Klöckner, the President of the German Bundestag and a CDU member, has reportedly been targeted by the current wave of phishing attacks affecting users of the messaging service Signal. According to reporting by “Der Spiegel” the CDU politician’s Signal account was successfully compromised by the attackers.
Initially, Klöckner was reportedly unreachable. A CDU spokesperson later confirmed to the news magazine that a chat group involving the party’s presidium members had been affected.
A government spokesman only confirmed the public warnings issued by authorities about the ongoing campaign, but declined to comment on potential victims or security-related procedures generally. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) also declined to comment on the matter.
Klöckner does not only hold the second-highest state office; she is also a member of the CDU presidium. These members reportedly communicated using Signal group chats, one of which included federal chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU). The “Spiegel” claims that BfV employees had already spoken with the chancellor in person to inform him about the incident, and an examination of his smartphone reportedly showed no irregularities.
As recently as Tuesday, the BfV had issued stern warnings once more to the party leadership within the Bundestag and the party offices regarding the continuing campaign. Security circles indicate that at least 300 affected individuals in Germany are now known.
The 20-page warning document stated, “It must be assumed that so many Signal groups within the parliamentary sphere are currently being read by the attackers almost unnoticed”. It further noted that the BfV was already aware of numerous high-profile cases. Due to the nature of the attacks, however, a significantly higher number of unreported cases is anticipated. International intelligence services attribute the wave of attacks, which has been ongoing for months, to Russia.