German authorities investigate phishing attacks targeting politicians amid growing risks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nPhishing attacks are surreptitiously on the rise. Concerned about this issue, German law enforcement agencies have taken the initiative to investigate them. <\/p>\n
Recently, German federal prosecutors informed on Friday that they are investigating phishing attacks carried out through messaging apps after the country’s main intelligence service warned of a campaign targeting high-profile politicians, diplomats, military officers and journalists.<\/p>\n
A spokesman said the prosecution service has been investigating suspected espionage since mid-April, declining to give further details, including targets or suspects.<\/p>\n
news outlet spiegel <\/i>The attackers were reported to have compromised the Signal accounts of the ruling conservative party, including both CDU members, parliamentary speaker Julia Kl\u00f6ckner, and unsuccessfully attempted to attack the account of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.<\/p>\n
Domestic intelligence service BfV and cybersecurity office BSI have warned of attacks on messaging app users this year, possibly carried out by a state-sponsored actor.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecent findings indicate that the campaign is still active and gaining momentum,\u201d the BFV said earlier this month.<\/p>\n
A government spokesman declined to provide details on Friday, but said communications between the government, the chancellor and her ministers are through secure channels.<\/p>\n
The security services said the attackers neither used malware nor exploited technical vulnerabilities in messaging services, instead relying on legitimate security features of the applications combined with social engineering to gain access to individual and group chats and contact lists unnoticed.<\/p>\n
According to BFV and BSI the focus of the attacks is on the messaging service Signal, although comparable methods are also possible for meta platforms such as WhatsApp.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n