Germany has admitted that its foreign and defence ministries fell victim to a cybersecurity breach, reportedly carried out by Russian hacking group APT28, also known as Fancy Bear.
Two years ago, security analyst Dmitri Alperovitch of Crowdstrike told the Christian Science Monitor he had “high level confidence” that Fancy Bear was a Russian state intelligence agency. The same group is accused of hacking email accounts belonging to the Clinton campaign during the 2016 US presidential election.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The IVBB is a communications system that operates independently of other public networks, “for supposed added security”, Deutches Welle says.
A spokesman for the German Interior Ministry told Reuters the attack has been “isolated and brought under control”, and that authorities are working on addressing the incident “with high priority and significant resources.”
Authorities have given no indication of how much data had been intercepted or stolen, and declined to comment on the contents of any data that may have been compromised.
Business Insider says the German government receives “around 20 attempted hacks per day”, and intelligence services perform network penetration testing once a week.
-
Political cartoons for November 5Cartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include five little piggies, narcoterrorist boats, the wealth divide, and more
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
The world’s uncontacted peoples under threatThe Explainer Indigenous groups face ‘silent genocide’ from growing contact with miners, missionaries and influencers
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
North Korea's army of fake IT workersThe Explainer Using AI and stolen information to craft false identities, they are becoming an 'increasing menace' to top tech companies in the US and UK
