Russia-linked hack hits hundreds of Signal accounts in Germany
Among the victims of the attack was the President of the Bundestag (Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner)
The Signal messenger accounts of hundreds of people were hacked in Germany, including Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, former and current members of parliament, several ministers, and former intelligence chiefs, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on April 25.
Victims received warnings purportedly from Signal support claiming someone had tried to take over their account and asking them to confirm access with a code. Those who complied effectively gave attackers access to all their Signal communications and contact lists. German security services believe this has been going on for several months.
According to Süddeutsche Zeitung, German security authorities now believe the number of victims reaches into the hundreds. They include government members, MPs, former MPs and former intelligence chiefs.
Der Spiegel reported that among those affected were Construction Minister Verena Hubertz and Family Minister Karin Prien; both ministries declined to comment.
It was also reported last week that Bundestag President Julia Klöckner was a victim, the article says.
The outlet writes that the list of victims will likely grow, as attackers can use victims’ contact lists for new waves of attacks. Security authorities are now desperately trying to raise awareness of the problem.
It is also noted that U.S. authorities raised the issue back in March, and it is not yet known whether other government bodies have been affected.
“Although no one in Germany confirms this officially, authorities are quite confident Russia is behind the attack,” the article says.
“The FBI officially accused Russian intelligence services of involvement in the phishing campaign back in March. How much sensitive communication reached Russian intelligence remains unknown. Since Signal had been considered a relatively secure messaging service, the damage is likely immense.”
Signal group chats are popular among politicians despite warnings about wiretapping attempts by intelligence services from Russia or China.
Members of the German government have access to extremely secure channels such as specially encrypted devices and lines, but consider them cumbersome and impractical. The authors suggest private devices are often used for communication.
A spokesman for the federal prosecutor general confirmed to Süddeutsche Zeitung on April 24 that the Karlsruhe office has launched an investigation. The outlet writes the probe began in mid-February and is being conducted by the federal prosecutor on suspicion of “espionage.” In addition to politicians, victims include former deputy head of Germany’s intelligence service Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven and several journalists, the spokesman added.
Back in February, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) issued a public warning about the attack.
On March 20, the FBI said hackers linked to Russian intelligence had carried out large-scale attacks on users of commercial messengers, including Signal and WhatsApp.
On March 9, the Dutch intelligence service said “Russian state hackers” were behind attacks in popular messengers targeting officials, soldiers, and journalists worldwide.
On March 24, the investigative journalism project CORRECTIV reported an attack on Signal users in Germany — journalists, politicians and security personnel.
According to the outlet, the investigation found digital evidence pointing to Russia’s involvement in the campaign and links to previous attacks in Ukraine and Moldova. It was already reported then that Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven, the deputy head of Germany’s intelligence service, was a victim.
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