Dutch intelligence services warn of Russian hackers targeting Signal and WhatsApp
The Netherlands’ military and national intelligence services issued a joint warning claiming that Russian hackers had launched “a large-scale global cyber campaign to access Signal and WhatsApp accounts belonging to dignitaries, military personnel and civil servants.” According to the Dutch alert, hackers are imitating support chatbots to trick key targets into revealing their PINs for these communications platforms, allowing bad actors to access incoming messages.
Last year in the United States, the Pentagon advised its members not to use Signal after the platform fell victim to similar phishing scams from Russian hackers. (Although the same U.S. military leaders had shown themselves capable of creating their own security breaches without foreign interference just days before.)
Having another national government raise concerns about Signal and WhatsApp phishing scams is yet another reminder to never provide security details or click on links without checking who is actually asking for your information.
