Story perspectives

Germany Accuses Russia of Phishing Attack on 300 Officials' Signal

4/26/2026

Summary

Story summary

Berlin blamed Russia for a phishing campaign that compromised Signal accounts of officials, including Bundestag President Julia Klöckner.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office opened an espionage investigation in mid-April after the attack accessed at least 300 Signal accounts by stealing verification codes.
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and for Information Security notified users, inspected devices for leaks, and recorded that Russia tried to block WhatsApp in February.

History

Historical Context

In December 2014 Fancy Bear launched a six-month attack that paralyzed the German Bundestag in May 2015 and stole roughly 16 GB of data. Follow-up spear-phishing in 2016 led prosecutors to issue an arrest warrant for Dimitri Badin in May 2020. The latest phishing breach of Signal accounts of officials such as President Julia Klöckner mirrors this decade-long campaign and has spurred Germany to harden encryption and raise cyber-defence spending.

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Story summary

Berlin blamed Russia for a phishing campaign that compromised Signal accounts of officials, including Bundestag President Julia Klöckner.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office opened an espionage investigation in mid-April after the attack accessed at least 300 Signal accounts by stealing verification codes.
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and for Information Security notified users, inspected devices for leaks, and recorded that Russia tried to block WhatsApp in February.

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