Hackers tried to hack the WhatsApp account of Christine Lagarde, the head of the European Central Bank (ECB), allegedly using the real mobile phone number of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Deutsche Welle writes about it.
The German news channel n-tv confirmed the information about the cyber attack on Lagarde with reference to the ECB chairmanʼs spokesman. It is noted that Lagarde, who has a personal friendship with Merkel, received an SMS message allegedly from the former chancellorʼs number with an offer to continue communication via WhatsApp. The hoax was revealed when the ECB president called Merkel back to clarify whether she was indeed the author of the message. The hackersʼ goal was an identification code that would allow them to access Lagardeʼs Messenger account.
How the attackers found out Merkelʼs number is not yet clear. Lagarde was not the only target of hackers, who hunted a number of representatives of political and economic circles using the stolen personal data of high-ranking German politicians.
The police have launched an investigation involving the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and the Federal Office for Information Security (FOIS). Both agencies sent warnings to the Bundestag deputies describing the hackerʼs methodology.