Dutch intelligence warns of Russian hacking campaign

Dutch intelligence services have warned of a global cyber campaign supported by Russia that aims to gain access to accounts on the Signal and WhatsApp messaging apps. According to the agencies, the attacks mainly target government officials, military personnel and journalists.

According to the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service and the Military Intelligence and Security Service, hackers are trying to persuade users to provide security verification codes and PIN codes. Once obtained, they can gain access to personal accounts and group conversations.

The intelligence services said Russian hackers have likely already gained access to sensitive information. Dutch government employees and journalists were also among the targets of the campaign.

According to the findings, the attackers often pose as Signal app support, for example as the ‘Signal Support’ chatbot, to obtain verification codes from users. In some cases, they also abuse the ‘linked devices’ feature, which allows access to the account from other devices.

The Dutch authorities also warned that apps with end-to-end encryption, such as Signal and WhatsApp, are not suitable for transmitting classified or highly sensitive information. WhatsApp said users should never share their six-digit security code with others.

(reuters, max)