Dutch intelligence services have reported a large-scale cyberattack targeting government officials, military personnel, and journalists. The hacks are attributed to hackers linked to Russia, according to Reuters.
Social engineering methods are used to gain access to accounts in Signal and WhatsApp* messengers: officials are persuaded to reveal confirmation codes and PIN codes, masquerading as Signal support chatbots.
Russian hackers likely gained access to confidential information.
The country's intelligence services emphasized that the popularity of messengers with end-to-end encryption for exchanging secret information makes them an "ideal target" for hackers. Military personnel and officials were urged not to use Signal and WhatsApp* for exchanging confidential data.
*WhatsApp is owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation