Cybercriminals hacked the messaging app of German Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, Germany’s second-highest-ranking official, according to a report by Glass.
The magazine reported that Klöckner was among the victims of a recent phishing attack to target the Signal messaging app, amid a large wave of attacks about European politicians in recent months.
The agency reported that Klöckner was part of the Signal group’s talks with members of the central board of the conservative Christian Democratic Union. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is also part of the group, although German domestic intelligence reportedly found no evidence that his phone had been compromised. Der Spiegel also reported that at least one other CDU MP was affected.
The European Commission has recommended that from 2020 officials use Signals for non-work related communications. Earlier in April European cyber security and intelligence agencies warned of a phishing campaign in which Russian hackers posed as a Wave support chat to trick users into revealing their passwords. Germany’s domestic intelligence service had provided fair warning in February.
POLITICO contacted the CDU and the Bundestag for comment. The parliamentary administration declined to comment, saying it generally does not release information about critical security infrastructure. The CDU did not immediately respond.
