Russian Hackers Targeting US Officials and Journalists on Signal — Have Accessed ‘Thousands’ of Accounts, FBI Warns
Russian hackers are targeting US officials and other “high intelligence value” individuals on the encrypted messaging app Signal and “thousands” of accounts have already been compromised, FBI Director Kash Patel warned Friday.
“The [FBI] has identified cyber actors associated with Russian Intelligence Services targeting users of commercial messaging applications, including Signal,” Patel wrote on X.
“The campaign targets individuals of high intelligence value, including current and former U.S. government officials, military personnel, political figures, and journalists,” the FBI director explained. “Globally, this effort has resulted in unauthorized access to thousands of individual accounts.”
The @FBI has identified cyber actors associated with Russian Intelligence Services targeting users of commercial messaging applications, including Signal.
The campaign targets individuals of high intelligence value, including current and former U.S. government officials,…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) March 20, 2026
The Russian actors are able to view messages and contact lists, send messages as the victim and conduct phishing attacks from the victim’s account after gaining access, Patel warned.
A public service announcement detailing the threat noted that “actors specifically target Signal accounts but can apply similar methods against other” commercial messaging apps. (Read more from “Russian Hackers Targeting US Officials and Journalists on Signal — Have Accessed ‘Thousands’ of Accounts, FBI Warns” HERE)
