The Federal Prosecutor's Office of Germany has initiated a criminal case on suspicion of espionage. This is related to a large-scale phishing campaign targeting users of the popular messenger Signal. A representative of the agency confirmed this information on April 25, after it was first published by Der Spiegel. The investigation started back in mid-February. According to Spiegel, members of almost all factions of the Bundestag, as well as military personnel, journalists, and even NATO soldiers, were affected. According to the same publication, the Signal accounts of Germany's Minister of Education Karin Prien and Minister of Construction Verena Hubertz were hacked. Der Spiegel believes this significantly raises the level of danger and the scale of the attacks. It was previously reported that Bundestag President Julia Klöckner also fell victim to this phishing campaign. She is the second-highest official in the state and a member of the presidium of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The CDU presidium, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who heads the party, had been actively communicating in a Signal group chat until recently. Officials from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) personally visited the Chancellor regarding this case. However, according to available information, no anomalies or signs of hacking were found in his account. ## Method of Attack BfV and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) had warned about such attacks back in February. Last week, they released an updated bulletin with specific recommendations for users. The document emphasizes that the campaign "is likely being carried out by a state-sponsored cyber actor," and its activity continues to escalate. The attackers send messages asking users to enter a PIN code, click on a suspicious link, or scan a QR code. Once access is gained, they can operate in closed group chats, impersonating other individuals.