Phishing Attacks Target German Lawmakers via Signal App, Affecting Over 300 Accounts

German and foreign security services issued a warning for phishing attacks targeting lawmakers and senior government officials via the Signal messaging application. The federal government assumes that the phishing campaign targeting the Signal messaging service was presumably run from Russia, a government source stated.

Victims are sent messages from Signal support asking them to enter a PIN, open a link, or scan a QR code.

If the scam is successful, hackers can gain access to messages, chat groups, photos, and files shared by the user. Attackers can impersonate the person whose account has been compromised. Local media estimate at least 300 accounts belonging to political figures were compromised.

Civil servants, diplomats, military personnel, and journalists were targeted in addition to high-profile politicians. Many users moved from WhatsApp to Signal following privacy concerns after WhatsApp announced it would share metadata with parent company Meta.

Konstantin von Notz, an MP who is deputy chief of the intelligence oversight committee, said the number of unreported cases will continue to rise in the coming days.

"At present, no one can say with any certainty whether the integrity of MPs' communications is still guaranteed," he added. The Bundestag is debating how to deal with the incidents. The question was raised whether the desktop version of the Signal app should be restricted on Bundestag computers.

Vice-President of the German Bundestag Andrea Lindholz, from CSU, rejects a ban on using Signal. She stated that she believes MPs are free to make their own decisions. Germany is Ukraine's biggest provider of military aid.

Germany has been the target of cyberattacks, espionage, and sabotage plots since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Euronews reported that Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in any such actions.