Germany and the Czech Republic on Friday blamed Russia for a series of recent cyberattacks, prompting the European Union to warn that Moscow would face consequences for its “malign cyber behavior.”
The charges come at a time of strained relations between Russia and the West following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the European Union’s support for Kiev.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said a recently completed government investigation concluded that a 2023 cyber attack targeting members of the Social Democratic Party was carried out by a group known as APT28.
APT28 “is run by Russia’s military intelligence,” Baerbock told reporters during a visit to Australia.
“In other words, it was a state-sponsored Russian cyber attack in Germany and that is completely unacceptable and unacceptable and there will be consequences.”
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Berlin later summoned the Russian embassy’s charge d’affaires over the incident.
APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, has been blamed for dozens of cyberattacks in countries around the world.
Russia denies being behind such actions.
The hacking of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD party was made public last year. It has been blamed on a previously unknown vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook.
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German Interior Minister Nancy Feiser said the cyber campaign was orchestrated by the Russian military intelligence agency GRU and began in 2022.
It is also targeting German companies in the arms and aerospace sectors, he said.
Such cyberattacks are “a threat to our democracy, national security and free societies,” he told a joint press conference in Prague with his Czech counterpart Vit Rakuzan.
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“We again call on Russia to stop these activities,” Faeser added.
Czech government officials said some state institutions had also been targeted in cyberattacks blamed on APT28, again exploiting a weakness in Microsoft Outlook.
Czech Interior Minister Rakusan said his country’s infrastructure had recently suffered “several dozens” of such attacks.
“The Czech Republic is a target. In the long term, it has been perceived by the Russian Federation as an enemy state,” he told reporters.
Condemnation of EU, NATO
The findings in Germany and the Czech Republic drew strong condemnation from the European Union.
“The malicious cyber campaign shows Russia’s continued pattern of irresponsible behavior in cyberspace, targeting democratic institutions, government entities and providers of critical infrastructure across the European Union and beyond,” said EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell.
The EU will “use the full range of measures to prevent, deter and respond to Russia’s malicious behavior in cyberspace,” he added.
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State institutions, organizations and entities in other member states, such as in Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Sweden, have also been targeted by APT28 in the past, the statement added.
The accusations come a day after NATO expressed “deep concern” over Russia’s “hybrid actions,” including disinformation, sabotage and cyber interference.
The controversy comes as millions of Europeans prepare to go to the polls for European Parliament elections in June.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told AFP that “pointing the finger publicly at a specific aggressor is an important tool for protecting national interests.”
One of the most high-profile incidents so far that Fancy Bear has been blamed for was a 2015 cyber attack that crippled the computer network of the German lower house of parliament, the Bundestag.
It forced the entire facility offline for days while it was fixed.
Source: AFP