German officials accused Russia on Saturday of being behind cyberattacks targeting members of parliament and senior government officials who use the messaging app Signal.
A government source stated: «The federal government assumes that the phishing campaign targeting the Signal messaging service was most likely operated from Russia.» The source added that the phishing campaign had been stopped.
Cyberattacks
German prosecutors opened an investigation on Friday into the attacks, which allegedly targeted members of parliament from several parties, including the president of the parliament and a prominent member of the Christian Democratic Union party led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Government employees, diplomats, and journalists were also targeted.
Germany, Europe’s largest military supporter of Kyiv, faces a rise in cyberattacks, as well as espionage and sabotage plots since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Moscow denies responsibility for any of these acts.
Sensitive Information
The attacks rely on sending messages to users claiming to be from the Signal app service, asking them to provide sensitive information that is later used to hack accounts and gain access to private chat groups, messages, and photos.
The German government has not yet commented on the number of affected parliament members. According to Der Spiegel magazine, at least 300 accounts of political figures were hacked.
Russia is also accused of carrying out numerous cyberattacks in Western countries.
German officials have been repeatedly targeted, including in 2015 when computers belonging to the Bundestag (parliament) and the office of then-Chancellor Angela Merkel were hacked.
Bundestag
Bundestag
Bundestag
Reichstag building
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