Earlier this year, Donncha Ó Cearbhaill, a security researcher who investigates spyware attacks, found himself in an unusual position. For once, he became the target of hackers. “Dear User, this is Signal Security Support ChatBot. We have noticed suspicious activity on your device, which could have led to data leak,” read a message he received on his Signal account.  “We have also detected attempts to gain access to your private data in Signal,” the message claimed. “To prevent this, you have to pass verification procedure, entering the verification code to Signal Security Support Chatbot. DON’T TELL ANYONE THE CODE, NOT EVEN SIGNAL EMPLOYEES.” Obviously, Ó Cearbhaill, who heads Amnesty International’s Security Lab, immediately recognized that this was an “unwise” attempt at hacking his Signal account. Instead, he thought it’d be a good opportunity to jump into an unexpected investigation.  The researcher told TechCrunch that until then, he had “never knowingly” been targeted with a one-click cyberattack or a phishing attempt like this before. “Having the attack land in my inbox, and the chance to turn …