The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) have warned about a wave of attacks that are “probably state‑backed cyber actors”.
In a letter to members of the German Bundestag, which the “Spiegel” reported, the authorities say that the attackers are targeting senior officials in politics, the military, diplomacy, and investigative journalists across Germany and Europe.
The hackers aim to intercept messages sent through the Signal messenger app. Signal is widely used by journalists and politicians because it is considered very secure; chats and calls are encrypted. According to the BfV and BSI, the attackers have found ways to gain access to victims’ Signal accounts using phishing techniques.
The authorities classify the campaign as “especially security‑relevant with regard to high‑ranking target persons”. A successful breach of a Messenger account could provide not only access to confidential individual communications but also potentially compromise entire networks through group chats. The information obtained could be used for further intelligence or criminal activities.