Several German lawmakers have once again fallen victim to a cyberattack, local media said Friday, with security experts pointing the finger at Russian hackers.
Hackers used phishing emails to gain access to the computers of at least seven federal MPs and 31 lawmakers in regional parliaments, according to Der Spiegel weekly.
A spokesman for the lower house of parliament confirmed the cyber attack but said there was «currently no indication» of a direct attack on the IT infrastructure of the German Bundestag.
Security experts suspect Russia’s GRU military intelligence service of being behind the hacking, Der Spiegel said, through the «Ghostwriter» group which reportedly specializes in spreading disinformation.
It remains unclear if any sensitive information was accessed, the magazine added.
Most of the lawmakers targeted come from Germany’s ruling coalition parties, the CDU/CSU conservative bloc and the center-left Social Democrats, Spiegel said.
Several political activists were also affected, Spiegel added.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel last year said she had concrete proof that Russia was targeting her in cyber attacks.
The most high-profile incident blamed on Russian hackers to date was a cyber attack in 2015 that completely paralyzed the computer network of the Bundestag, forcing the entire parliament offline for days while it was fixed.
German prosecutors last month filed espionage charges against a German man suspected of having passed the floorplans of parliament to Russian secret services in 2017.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas last week said Germany was expecting to be the target of Russian disinformation in the run-up to its general election in September, calling it «completely unacceptable.»
Russia denies being behind such activities.
Key Navalny Associate Leaves Russia, Citing Arrest Fears
One of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s key allies announced Sunday that he has left Russia for Europe out of fear of being arrested.
Vladimir Milov’s announcement comes days after Russian prosecutors asked a court to label Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and his regional network as «extremist» organizations. The move would outlaw the groups in Russia and could result in jail time for their members or even supporters.
“We consulted with our colleagues and decided that it is better for me not to be arrested now, because my area of work is very important,” Milov said in a live webcast from the Navalny Live YouTube channel.
Milov made his announcement alongside Leonid Volkov, Navalny’s regional network coordinator who left the country in 2019 after investigators opened a criminal money-laundering case against the FBK.
Navalny’s team has called on supporters to take to the streets Wednesday in a last-ditch effort to save Navalny’s life as he continues hunger-striking to demand proper medical treatment in prison. The opposition figure’s doctors warn that the jailed Kremlin critic could die from cardiac arrest any minute.
Previous pro-Navalny protests on Jan. 23 and Jan. 31 led to mass detentions of protesters and the house arrests of several top Navalny associates.
Milov said that during the January protests, police officers had been in his apartment building without entering his actual apartment. Pointing to when he was detained and arrested for 30 days during the protests of summer 2019, Milov said it was only a matter of time before the same thing happened again.
Milov said that he will work to increase international pressure on the Russian authorities while abroad.
