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GERMANY AND RUSSIA

German civil servants ‘probed on Russian spy suspicion’

German intelligence services are investigating two civil servants at the Economy Ministry on suspicion of spying for Moscow, according to a local media report published Wednesday.

Published: 31 August 2022 15:12 CEST
Germany Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck.
Germany Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck. German intelligence services are investigating two civil servants at the Economy Ministry on suspicion of spying for Moscow, according to report. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Annette Riedl

Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the domestic intelligence service, opened an inquiry after senior ministry staff shared their concerns, according to weekly Die Zeit.

The ministry “cannot comment on individual cases”, a spokeswoman told AFP when asked about the report.

She added that new leadership at the ministry had “completely overturned the pro-Russian policy pursued until the change of government” in December last year.

Germany has set about reducing its dependence on fuel imports from Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine in February, with the economy ministry central to implementing the policy shift.

The two civil servants drew the attention of colleagues by showing “sympathy for the Russian view” on questions of energy policy, notably on the decision to block the approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, according to Die Zeit.

A close inspection of their resumes by authorities revealed that one of the two had studied in Russia.

The civil servants are said to have an “emotional proximity to Russia”, according to the report, though as yet authorities had no “hard evidence” of spying or corruption.

Germany has been rocked in recent years by a series of espionage affairs involving Russia.

Most recently, it was reported that German authorities had indications that Russian secret services spied on Ukrainian soldiers receiving training in Germany on Western weapons.

A German man is also currently on trial for allegedly passing information to Russian intelligence services while working as a reserve officer for the German army.

And last year, a German court sentenced a Russian man to life in prison for shooting dead a former Chechen commander in a Berlin park in broad daylight, a murder prosecutors say Moscow ordered.

Member comments

  1. I think the most fitting question should be; is there anyone in this government that is not corrupt?

    When the leader is in question its leads to decay amongst the ranks, which is what I think we see here. Statistically speaking a criminal has successfully committed at least one crime before being caught.

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GERMANY AND RUSSIA

Germany, Czech Republic accuse Russia of cyberattacks

Germany and the Czech Republic on Friday blamed Russia for a series of recent cyberattacks, prompting the European Union to warn Moscow of consequences over its "malicious behaviour in cyberspace".

Published: 4 May 2024 10:29 CEST
Germany, Czech Republic accuse Russia of cyberattacks

The accusations come at a time of strained relations between Moscow and the West following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the European Union’s support for Kyiv.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said a newly concluded government investigation found that a cyberattack targeting members of the Social Democratic Party had been carried out by a group known as APT28.

APT28 “is steered by the military intelligence service of Russia”, Baerbock told reporters during a visit to Australia.

“In other words, it was a state-sponsored Russian cyberattack on Germany and this is absolutely intolerable and unacceptable and will have consequences.”

APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, has been accused of dozens of cyberattacks in countries around the world. Russia denies being behind such actions.

The hacking attack on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD party was made public last year. Hackers exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook to compromise e-mail accounts, according to Berlin.

Berlin on Friday summoned the acting charge d’affaires of the Russian embassy over the incident.

The Russian embassy in Germany said its envoy “categorically rejected the accusations that Russian state structures were involved in the given incident… as unsubstantiated and groundless”.

Arms, aerospace targeted: Berlin 

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the cyber campaign was orchestrated by Russia’s military intelligence service GRU and began in 2022. It also targeted German companies in the armaments and aerospace sectors, she said.

Such cyberattacks are “a threat to our democracy, national security and our free societies”, she told a joint news conference in Prague with her Czech counterpart Vit Rakusan.

“We are calling on Russia again to stop these activities,” Faeser added.

Czech government officials said some of its state institutions had also been the target of cyberattacks blamed on APT28, again by exploiting a weakness in Microsoft Outlook in 2023.

Czech Interior Minister Rakusan said his country’s infrastructure had recently experienced “higher 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.

EU, NATO condemnation

The German and Czech findings triggered strong condemnation from the European Union.

“The malicious cyber campaign shows Russia’s continuous pattern of irresponsible behaviour in cyberspace, by targeting democratic institutions, government entities and critical infrastructure providers across the European Union and beyond,” EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said.

The EU would “make use of the full spectrum of measures to prevent, deter and respond to Russia’s malicious behaviour in cyberspace”, he added.

State institutions, agencies and entities in other member states including in Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Sweden had been targeted by APT28 in the past, the statement added.

The latest accusations come a day after NATO expressed “deep concern” over Russia’s “hybrid actions” including disinformation, sabotage and cyber interference.

The row also comes as millions of Europeans prepare to go to the polls for the European Parliament elections in June, and concerns about foreign meddling are running high.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told AFP that “pointing a finger publicly at a specific attacker is an important tool to protect national interests”.

One of the most high-profile incidents so far blamed on Fancy Bear was a cyberattack in 2015 that paralysed the computer network of the German lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. It forced the entire institution offline for days while it was fixed.

In 2020, the EU imposed sanctions on individuals and entities linked to the APT28 group over the incident.

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