Roman Höfner

@romanhoefner.bsky.social

2474 Followers 1413 Following

Journalist @DerSpiegel

With the exposed email addresses, mobile phone numbers, usernames, and passwords, attackers can craft convincing phishing emails or manipulated chat messages in order to steal sensitive information or install malware on the affected individuals’ devices. If the leaked passwords are also used for other accounts, attackers can gain access to additional services such as WhatsApp, Dropbox, or PayPal. This enables malicious actors to harvest personal data or use the accounts for further attacks. Since images and audio of public figures are readily available, even average technical skills and equipment are sufficient to carry out so-called deepfake attacks—participating in audio or video meetings using imitated voices and faces. Once an account has been compromised, attackers may also attempt to install malware on the politicians’ devices to monitor their communications or steal or manipulate sensitive information. With the collected data, perpetrators could try to blackmail or manipulate the individuals—a subtle but potentially highly impactful political threat.