Germany Accuses Russia Of Cyberattacks, Threatening Unexplained Consequences

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. (photo: x @BMI_Bund)

JAKARTA - Germany accused Russia of carrying out cyber attacks on defense and aerospace companies, as well as its government parties, as well as targets in other countries. They also warned there would be unexplained consequences.

The Russian embassy in Berlin rejected the accusations - which was also voiced by the Czech Republic, the NATO defense alliance, and the US State Department - called them "other unfriendly measures aimed at inciting anti-Russian sentiment in Germany".

NATO said the campaign also targeted government agencies, "critical infrastructure operators", and other entities in Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Sweden.

These allegations come at a time when anxiety is rising in Europe over alleged Russian hackers and spies since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and ahead of elections in Europe.

The German government said it had summoned Russian envoys to protest over what they said was a campaign launched two years ago by a group linked to Moscow's GRU military intelligence agency.

The attacks targeted the German Social Democratic Party as well as companies in the logistics, defense, aerospace, and IT sectors, the interior ministry said in a statement.

The company's servers in critical sectors have been compromised, the ministry's spokesman said, without naming the company or providing further details about the damage.

"These attacks are not only aimed at certain individual parties or politicians, but are shaking confidence in our democracy," said German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.

Germany and its partners will not tolerate these attacks and will use the entire spectrum of action to prevent, scare, and respond to Russia's aggressive behavior in cyberspace, a spokesman from the German Foreign Ministry said.