Identity, Threat Management

European Central Bank head targeted by hackers

Threat actors have impersonated former German chancellor Angela Merkel in an attempt to hack European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, according to Reuters. Lagarde was messaged by hackers posing as Merkel to provide an authentication code that could have enabled remote compromise of the ECB chief's WhatsApp account, a source close to the matter said. However, an ECB spokesperson noted that the hacking attempt was promptly averted. "We can confirm that there was an attempted cyber incident recently involving the president. It was identified and halted quickly. No information was compromised. We have nothing more to say as an investigation is ongoing," said the spokesperson. German lawmakers have been warned by the country's domestic intelligence agency and Federal Office for Information Security in a letter dated July 4 regarding a social engineering campaign exploiting "the existing relationship of trust between two high-ranking political figures." "Affected parties who pass on authentication data to the attackers lose control over the respective messenger account. The attackers can then use this account, for example, to attack other people," said the letter.

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