EU cybersecurity alarms grow as officials move off Signal amid probes into cloud and mobile breaches
European Union institutions are tightening internal security after a series of incidents targeting digital infrastructure and officials’ communications, prompting renewed concern about how exposed sensitive data could be. Investigators are still working to determine whether the events are connected or opportunistic attacks.
The European Commission has instructed some senior staff to close a Signal group chat as a precaution, according to reporting by Politico.
The step follows warnings from several European security agencies about a campaign designed to compromise messaging accounts by tricking users into revealing access codes.
What the Commission says happened?
The Commission has confirmed at least two separate security incidents this year affecting a website-related cloud environment and a central system used to manage mobile devices.
Officials have said the January case may have exposed staff names and mobile numbers, while stressing that no compromise of the phones themselves was detected.
In the cloud-related incident disclosed in the spring, EU cybersecurity officials said stolen data included personal information such as names and email-related content.
The Commission has said its core internal infrastructure was not affected and that it has been coordinating with its cloud provider and the EU’s data protection supervisor.
Why messaging apps are in focus?
Signal remains widely regarded as a secure, end-to-end encrypted messenger, but security services have warned that attackers are increasingly targeting people rather than encryption, using social engineering and fake support channels. That has pushed governments to favor controlled, government-run messaging platforms that can be centrally managed.
Several European countries have already introduced or expanded in-house secure messaging options for public-sector use, while EU policymakers have discussed building interoperable secure communications across institutions.
The broader debate has intensified since past high-profile incidents underscored the risks of officials using consumer apps for sensitive discussions.
Attribution also remains politically sensitive, with officials typically cautious about naming perpetrators while investigations continue. In the Commission’s cloud case, EU security officials have linked the activity to the ShinyHunters cybercriminal group, which has been associated with other major data theft and extortion cases in Europe.
