Denies The Platform Has Been Hacked, Signal: Part Of A Structured Misinformation Campaign

Signal denies the platform has been hacked. (photo: signal.org)

JAKARTA - Instant messaging app Signal, on Monday, March 1, announced that rumors circulating in several apps claiming that its messaging platform had been "broken and hacked" were false.

Signal said in a tweet that it was seeing an increase in usage in Eastern Europe and that rumor messages were often attributed to official government sources that read "an attack on Signal's platform."

We've had an uptick in usage in Eastern Europe & rumors are circulating that Signal is hacked & compromised. This is false. Signal is not hacked. We believe these rumors are part of a coordinated misinformation campaign meant to encourage people to use less secure alternatives.

— Signal (@signalapp) February 28, 2022

"This is false and Signal was not attacked," said the company, also quoted by Reuters. They also added that these rumors were part of a coordinated misinformation campaign "intended to encourage people to use less secure alternatives."

Signal's remarks came after a spate of cyberattacks that brought down Ukrainian banking and government websites along with Russian state-owned websites and Ukrainian state-run media outlets.

The United States and Britain have warned of a potential cyberattack in Ukraine that could have global consequences if, for example, a malicious software designed to target networks in Ukraine started spreading elsewhere.

The development came as Russia invaded Ukraine last week, calling its actions a "special operation."