FBI Director Kash Patel said on Friday that Russia’s intelligence services have targeted Americans of “high intelligence value” on private messaging apps in an ongoing phishing campaign.
Patel said the targets of Russian hackers include U.S. government officials, military officials, politicians and journalists.
“Globally, this effort has resulted in unauthorized access to thousands of individual accounts,” the director said in a social media post on Friday. “After gaining access, the actors can view messages and contact lists, send messages as the victim, and conduct additional phishing from a trusted identity.”
“It’s important for you to be aware and take action – this vulnerability is not with the application – but you as the end user,” Patel continued.
The FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned in a joint public service announcement that Russian actors are specifically targeting Signal accounts.
Signal is a private messaging service that offers end-to-end encryption for users to share sensitive information and documents.
However, the agencies indicated that these phishing tactics could be applied to similar messaging services as well.
The phishing scam operates by sending phishing messages from fake platform support accounts, prompting users to open a link or provide account information, according to the joint report.
“If the user performs any of the requested actions, they unwittingly provide the actors with unauthorized access to their account either by adding the attacker’s device as a linked device or through a full account takeover,” the report stated. “As the campaign evolves, actors may use additional techniques, such as malware to infect the victim.”
The FBI and CISA recommended at-risk Americans to be cautious about opening links or files shared over messaging apps and to report any discovered phishing scams.
The Trump administration was revealed to use Signal for high-level conversations when an Atlantic journalist was accidentally added to a group chat last year about strikes on Houthi rebels. A highly critical inspector general report found Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth jeopardized troop safety and violated department policy by using the Signal app on his personal cell phone.
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