Dutch intelligence agencies AIVD and MIVD warn that Russian state-backed hackers are targeting Signal and WhatsApp accounts of senior officials, military personnel, and journalists. The attacks don't exploit encryption weaknesses but rely on social engineering: impersonating support accounts to steal verification codes/PINs, or tricking users into scanning QR codes that silently link an attacker's device to the victim's account. Practical defenses include never sharing verification codes, regularly auditing linked devices, enabling registration lock/PIN, using disappearing messages, and setting up two-step verification on both apps.
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