Russia-linked hackers are trying to break into messaging accounts Signal and WhatsAppThey belong to high-ranking officials, military personnel and journalists. This was stated in the joint statement Two Dutch intelligence services – the Intelligence Agency (AIVD) and the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD), Reuters reported. We are talking about a “global cyber campaign”, during which hackers may have actually gained access to confidential information.
In particular, hackers pretend to be a Signal-enabled chatbot in order to gain access to the account, and then read messages not only in the victim’s personal account, but also in group chats with their participation. Meanwhile, Signal does not have a chatbot; Correspondence with users is carried out only by e-mail.
In addition, they are trying to illegally access Signal and WhatsApp accounts using the “Linked Devices” feature. The statement confirms that users may not know that their correspondence can be read remotely.
“Instant messaging programs such as Signal and WhatsApp, although end-to-end encrypted, should not be used as channels for transmitting confidential or sensitive information,” said MIVD Director Vice Admiral Peter Resink.
In turn, the head of the AIVD, Simon Smith, confirmed that it cannot be said that Signal or Whatsapp have been hacked. It said this was “related to the threat to individual user accounts.”