Information
Germany has accused Russia’s GRU military intelligence service of orchestrating a cyberattack against the Social Democrats (SPD), a major political party. This allegation was made amid broader accusations of increased espionage and cyber aggression linked to Russia as Germany, a NATO member, continues to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion. Additional reports indicated that cybercriminals targeted the email accounts of SPD executives. Concurrently, the Czech Republic reported cyber attacks from the APT28 group, known to be controlled by Russia’s GRU, exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft’s Outlook program. Both Germany and the Czech Republic, members of the European Union, received condemnation of these attacks from the EU, which promised to employ a broad range of countermeasures.
The situation escalated as German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, during a visit to Australia, firmly attributed the cyber attacks to APT28, describing them as state-sponsored Russian aggression. This assertion was echoed by German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who emphasized the threat these cyberattacks pose to democracy and the government’s resolve to counteract them, ensuring that they would not bow to intimidation from Russia. In response, Germany summoned the acting charge d’affaires of the Russian embassy and expressed readiness to use a full range of measures to deter further Russian cyber intrusions. This stance was supported by Australia, which voiced solidarity with Germany and stressed the importance of adhering to responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.
Source: AFP, Reuters
So what
It is likely that cyber attacks are becoming more and more common in all areas of the world and while it is likely that this attack was triggered due to the conflict in Ukraine, many more are happening for a range of other reasons. While a large portion of cyber attacks are conducted for money or to steal information, others are conducted to disable key systems. All of these almost certainly pose a significant threat to all states and require significant investment.
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