The US State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on two Russian state-linked cyber groups behind a phishing campaign targeting Signal and WhatsApp accounts. The operation has compromised thousands of accounts since at least March.
Federal authorities announced the reward on Monday under the Reward for Justice program. It targets groups UNC5792, associated with the Russian Federal Security Service Border Guards, and UNC4221, working for Russian military services.
The campaign uses phishing messages that impersonate support services. Attackers trick users into linking devices or sharing backup keys, granting access to current and past messages on Signal and WhatsApp.
Targets include US government officials, military personnel, political figures, and journalists. The FBI issued advisories in March and last week detailing the evolving tactics.
The State Department statement noted that the groups have conducted widespread phishing without exploiting encryption flaws in the apps.