Overview
- Rep. Don Bacon disclosed that actors he links to the Russian government gained access to his Signal account several months ago and said the FBI and House cybersecurity officials are now investigating the incident.
- Bacon said he does not believe any classified information was exposed because he avoids using Signal for sensitive government communications.
- He told reporters the intruders appeared to pose as a trusted acquaintance to gain access, a tactic consistent with spear-phishing and account takeover attacks.
- Federal cybersecurity agencies have previously warned of Russian-backed campaigns that target current and former U.S. officials through commercial messaging apps, making this claim part of a wider pattern of state-linked targeting.
- The disclosure follows earlier intrusions such as 2023 Chinese state-linked compromises of officials’ email and leaves open questions about attribution, the breach’s full scope, and whether policy or security practices for officials will change.