The Netherlands' Defence Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) and the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) published details about a 'large-scale global' hacking campaign against Signal and WhatsApp users. The two agencies accused 'Russian state actors' of using phishing and social engineering techniques ' rather than malware ' to take over accounts on the two messaging apps. In the case of Signal, the hackers are masquerading as the app's support team and messaging targets directly with warnings of suspicious activity, 'a possible data leak,' or of attempts to access the target's private data. If the target falls for it, the hackers ask for a verification code sent via SMS ' the hackers themselves request this code from Signal ' as well as the targets' PIN code. The hackers then use the verification and PIN codes to register a new device with a new phone number, impersonate the target, and potentially access their contacts, according to the report. Also, the target...
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