Germany warns of sophisticated phishing attacks targeting Signal accounts of politicians, military and journalists

German cybersecurity authorities have issued a high-alert warning about an ongoing phishing campaign that is targeting the Signal messaging accounts of high-ranking individuals, including politicians, military personnel, diplomats and investigative journalists across Germany and Europe. The advisory comes from Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and highlights the increasing use of social engineering techniques to hijack secure communications — without malware.

According to the joint advisory, the attackers are not exploiting software bugs or spreading malicious code. Instead, they are blending social engineering with legitimate features of Signal — a privacy-focused messaging platform — to deceive victims into granting access to their accounts.

In one variant of the attack, the adversaries impersonate official Signal support — using names such as “Signal Support” or “Signal Security ChatBot” — and send messages claiming a fake security issue. The goal is to create a sense of urgency that convinces the victim to share their Signal PIN or SMS verification code. With this information, the attackers can register the Signal account to a device and phone number they control, effectively locking the legitimate owner out while gaining full access to messages and contacts.

Read more at The 420