Hackers have broken into the email account of the district organization of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Heilbronn and sent phishing messages to around 6,500 contacts, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The recipients include ministries, political representatives and other recipients related to security-sensitive areas.
“According to initial data, the email was sent to around 6,500 contacts, many of whom are in the security sector. We know, for example, that the chancellor also received messages“, a spokesman for the Heilbronn police told the German Press Agency. The police are currently treating the case as a phishing attempt, not as a proven intrusion into the recipients' profiles.
Fake invitation leads to a document
The email contains a link to an invitation to an event with famous guests. The message was also received by the editorial staff of the German Press Agency. Other variants used subjects such as “Invitation to the 19th sermon for famous people in Böckingen“ and a notice of a change of affiliation between local party organizations.
According to information published by ntv, the link in the letter leads to a page from which a document can supposedly be opened. Recipients are advised not to click on it and not to open attachments. If they have already done so, they should immediately notify their IT teams.
Investigation continues
The CDU district organization notified the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Investigation Office after it established that the messages were sent from the compromised account. The recipients were warned about the fraudulent emails.
There is no public confirmation yet that passwords or other sensitive data were extracted from the recipients. No arrests have been made. The police are still investigating how the mailbox was accessed and whether any of the recipients followed the instructions in the phishing message.
Sources: n-tv.de, tagesspiegel.de, welt.de