German Bundestag President Julia Klöckner was targeted in a phishing attack, and hackers gained access to her account on the Signal messaging app, Der Spiegel reported late on Wednesday.
As noted by the German outlet, Klöckner is a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party and is part of a Signal group chat that includes the chancellor. It remains unclear whether the attackers gained access to that chat or what content, if any, they obtained. An examination of Merz’s phone found no signs of compromise.
Officials in the Bundestag have neither confirmed nor denied the report of the breach of Klöckner’s account. However, as noted by Die Zeit, Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) warned in April about phishing attacks targeting the Signal accounts of senior officials and investigative journalists. Klöckner appears to have fallen victim to one of those attacks.
The BfV linked the cyberattacks to unidentified “state-controlled cybercriminals.” According to Der Spiegel, officials at the agency suspect Russian hackers were behind the incidents. Approximately 300 similar cases are known.
