5th October, 2018
The German government on Friday, accused Russia of being behind massive cyber attacks in 2017, echoing the governments of the U.S., Britain and the Netherlands.
“The federal government believes with a likelihood bordering on certainty that behind the APT28 campaign is the Russian military intelligence service GRU,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Friday in Berlin.
APT28, also known as Fancy Bear among other monikers, is believed to be a cyber espionage group associated with Russia’s GRU.
Berlin suspects it of being behind cyberattacks on the German lower house, the Bundestag, and the federal government’s data network in 2015.
“This assessment is based on our own very good facts and sources,” Seibert said.
The German government also has “full confidence” in the British and Dutch governments, who had the previous day, accused Russia of launching attacks on them.
“We strongly condemn such attacks on international organisations and on the facilities of our allies.
“Meanwhile, we call on Russia to live up to its responsibilities and to refrain from such actions,” Seibert said.
The U.S., Britain and the Netherlands had launched a wave of accusations against Russia on Thursday, alleging that Russian military intelligence workers had been hacking into the networks of Western-based investigative authorities.
The Netherlands-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was allegedly targeted during an investigation into the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal that caused a scandal in Britain earlier this year.
Dutch and British officials described the Russian military intelligence service as “brazen” for allegedly targeting the OPCW and an investigation into the 2014 downing of a Malaysian Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine.
Anti-doping authorities were also allegedly targeted following accusations of widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs among Russian athletes.
Britain’s National Cyber Crime Unit published a list of hacker groups that it said were almost certainly steered by the GRU, including APT28.