- Google’s parent company Alphabet and the German cyber security agency issued a joint warning about Russian hackers.
- According to the warning, some hackers affiliated with Russian intelligence are targeting German political parties and politicians.
- It is thought that the attacks carried out by Russian hackers against German politicians are related to the upcoming European elections.
Security researchers from Germany’s cyber security agency and Google’s parent company Alphabet have issued a joint warning. According to this warning, last month some elite hackers affiliated with Russian intelligence aimed to enter the networks of German political parties and steal data.
You have an email from the Russian hacker group APT29!
Alphabet alleges that a hacker group nicknamed APT29, which allegedly works for Russia’s intelligence agency, sent an email “appearing to be an invitation” to prominent German politicians. In this type of attack, also known as phishing, e-mail is the first step for the cyber attack to begin.
Attacks by Russian hackers may be linked to upcoming European elections
Germany’s cybersecurity agency (BSI) stated that state-sponsored cyber spies are targeting German political parties in order to gain long-term access and leak data. In its warning, BSI said foreign powers were particularly interested in spying on politicians in the context of “upcoming European elections”.
US cybersecurity company Mandiant also spoke about the issue. Mandiant said the Russian hackers’ actions dovetailed with Moscow’s focus on its long-running conflict with Kiev.
Germany is among the Western countries that provide military support to Ukraine in its war with Russia. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that relations between Berlin and Moscow had slowed down significantly.
Compiled by: Ömer Kağan Selen