By Lucy Adautin
Germany has held Russian state-sponsored hackers accountable for what they labeled as an “intolerable” cyber attack on members of the Social Democratic Party, with warnings of forthcoming consequences on Friday.
Annalena Baerbock, the Foreign Minister, disclosed the findings of a German federal government investigation into the 2023 cyber assault on the SPD, attributing responsibility to Russian state-sponsored hackers.
“Today we can say unambiguously (that) we can attribute this cyber attack to a group called APT28, which is steered by the military intelligence service of Russia,” she told a news conference during a visit to Australia.
“In other words, it was a state-sponsored Russian cyber attack on Germany and this is absolutely intolerable and unacceptable and will have consequences.”
APT28, also recognized as Fancy Bear, has been implicated in numerous cyber assaults spanning countries worldwide.
Baerbock refrained from elaborating further on the cyber attack directed at the SPD.
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In a report last year, the European Union’s computer security response unit CERT-EU cited a German media disclosure detailing a cyber attack targeting an SPD executive in January 2023, potentially resulting in data exposure. The report indicated compelling evidence suggesting a Russian origin.
The German minister addressed the issue following a discussion with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Adelaide, South Australia.
Wong expressed Australia’s profound concern regarding the cyber activities highlighted by Baerbock.
“Australia stands in solidarity with Germany in calling out states that act contrary to the norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace,” Wong said.
“We have previously joined the United States, UK, Canada, and New Zealand in attributing malicious cyber activity to APT28.”
