2024-05-03 15:32:24
In response, the European Union (EU) has warned Moscow that its “malicious behavior in cyberspace” will have consequences.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock announced that the German federal government’s investigation into the cyber attack on members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 2023 has just been completed. “Today we can say unequivocally (that) we can attribute this cyber attack to a group called APT28, which is run by Russian military intelligence,” Burbok said at a press conference during a visit to Australia.
“In other words, it was a state-sponsored Russian cyberattack on Germany, and it is absolutely unacceptable and unacceptable, and there will be consequences,” the minister stressed.
APT28, also known as “Fancy Bear”, has been accused of dozens of cyber attacks in various countries around the world.
Burbok did not provide details about the cyber attack to the SPD. The press representative of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday that the official clerk of the Russian Embassy was summoned in connection with this incident.
The cyber attack reaffirmed “that Russia’s threat to security and peace in Europe is real and enormous,” a ministry spokesman told reporters in Berlin.
Last year, the European Union (EU) computer security response unit CERT-EU paid attention to a German media report that in January 2023, an SPD politician suffered from a cyber attack and a data leak may have occurred. It was reported that there were concrete indications that Russia was behind the cyber attack.
Burbock met with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who expressed serious concerns about the cyber activity Burbock mentioned. “Australia stands in solidarity with Germany in condemning countries that act contrary to the norms of responsible state behavior in cyberspace,” Wong said.
“We have previously joined the United States, Great Britain, Canada and New Zealand in attributing malicious cyber activity to APT28,” she added.
One of the loudest incidents blamed on Russian hackers was the 2015 cyber attack that paralyzed the computer network of the lower house of the German parliament – the Bundestag – forcing the entire institution to function offline for several days.
Russia denies that it is behind these cyber attacks.
German Interior Minister Nancy Fesser said the cyber attack on the SPD was led by Russian military intelligence and that the campaign began in 2022 and also targeted German companies in the arms and space industries.
Such cyber attacks are “a threat to our democracy, national security and our free societies,” Fezer said during a visit to Prague. “We once again call on Russia to stop these actions,” she added.
Czech government officials announced that several state institutions have been subject to cyber-attacks, which are believed to have been carried out by the APT28 group, which, similar to the case in Germany, exploited a weakness in the Microsoft Outlook software system.
Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakušan said that Czech infrastructure had recently experienced “several dozen” of such attacks. “The Czech Republic is a target. In the long term, the Russian Federation has perceived it as an enemy country,” Rakushan told reporters.
“The malicious campaign of cyberattacks demonstrates Russia’s continued irresponsible behavior in cyberspace, targeting democratic institutions, government bodies and providers of critical infrastructure across the European Union and beyond,” said the EU’s foreign affairs chief, Giuseppe Borel.
The EU “will use the entire spectrum of measures to prevent, deter and respond to Russia’s malicious behavior in cyberspace,” Borel stressed.
APT28 has also previously attacked state institutions, agencies and structures in other EU member states, including Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Sweden, according to Borel’s statement.
NATO this week expressed “deep concern” about Russia’s hybrid activities, including disinformation, sabotage and cyber attacks.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told the AFP news agency that “publicly pointing the finger at a specific attacker” was important to protect national interests.
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2024-05-03 15:32:24