State-Backed Hackers Target Military Officials, Journalists via Signal

German intelligence agencies (BfV and BSI) warn of a suspected state-sponsored espionage campaign targeting military officials, diplomats, politicians, and investigative journalists by using social engineering to weaponize legitimate Signal features: impersonating "Signal Support" to solicit SMS verification codes or PINs for account takeover, and tricking users into scanning attacker-controlled QR codes to link devices and gain persistent access to recent chat history and contacts. Agencies advise never sharing verification codes or PINs, regularly checking Linked Devices, and enabling Signal's Registration Lock.