- Germany has warned that Russian spies are using Tinder to track information about the war in Ukraine.
- The spies are targeting German soldiers and politicians, the country’s counterintelligence service said.
- Intelligence agencies like Russia appear to be using the dating app to find espionage and recruits.
Russian spies are using Tinder to target German politicians and soldiers to obtain information related to the war in Ukraine, according to German counterintelligence agencies.
German newspaper Wert am Sonntag reported that Russian agents are looking specifically at the dating app in an attempt to “recruit as sources” politicians and members of the Bundeswehr.
This is due to the German Military Counterintelligence Service, known by the acronym MAD.
confirmed by MAD Wert am Sonntag “Members of other intelligence agencies (such as Russia) use social media to specifically contact members of the federal armed forces” in an attempt to obtain information and, in some cases, even recruit them.
We also confirmed that Tinder is one of the social media platforms used.
The information was shared at a meeting of NATO representatives in Germany, reported Welt am Sonntag.
Germany has been one of Ukraine’s biggest allies since Russia invaded in February 2022, and thousands of Ukrainian troops have trained in the country.
The German Federal Office for Protection of the Constitution has said that the level of Russian espionage in Germany is now at the same level as during the Cold War, Wert am Sontag reports.
Other governments have previously warned that spies and foreign intelligence agencies may be using dating apps like Tinder to find sources and gather information.
Australian National Security Agency warned In February 2022, foreign spies appeared to use dating apps such as Tinder to obtain information from citizens with access to classified information.
He did not name specific countries involved.
and U.S. Department of Justice officials warned In 2020, the data people put on dating apps could be used by foreign intelligence agencies.
Russia already uses Tinder to collect data on its citizens. In 2019, Russia ordered Tinder to hand over user data to Russian intelligence agencies.
However, the dating app has also been used by others in connection with the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Tinder users can pay for features that allow them to talk to people from other countries.some have used for trial To show the Russian people what the invasion was like in the face of tightly controlled Russian state media.