UK MPs face rise in phishing attacks on messaging apps

"MPs, peers and officials are being asked to step up their cybersecurity after a continued rise in attacks that have involved messages pretending to be from the app's support team, asking a user to enter an access code, click a link or scan a QR code. If successful, the attacker can read the parliamentarian's messages, download their contact lists and monitor their activity, all without being discovered, according to a memo sent on Thursday and seen by the Guardian."

"The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), based at GCHQ, shared new measures in October to protect parliamentarians from phishing attacks but such cases have continued to rise it said. The NCSC are aware of Russian-based activity targeting commercial messaging platforms used by UK politicians and officials, including Signal and WhatsApp, the parliamentary authorities said. They are urging legislators and officials to stop using commercial messaging platforms for parliamentary work and to use Microsoft Teams for informal communications."

MPs, peers and officials face a growing wave of phishing attacks targeting commercial messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Signal. Attackers send messages posing as app support staff, asking recipients to enter access codes, click links or scan QR codes. Successful compromises allow attackers to read messages, download contact lists and monitor activity without discovery. The National Cyber Security Centre issued measures in October but incidents have continued. The NCSC reports Russian-based activity targeting politicians and officials and is urging the cessation of commercial messaging for parliamentary work in favor of Microsoft Teams. Police and government agencies are investigating previous incidents and offering cyber-defence services.

Read at www.theguardian.com