Last month, elite hackers linked to Russian intelligence reportedly targeted several German political parties with the intention of infiltrating their networks and stealing data, as per an alert issued by Germany’s cybersecurity agency and security researchers associated with Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
According to a report released by Alphabet’s Mandiant cyber unit on Friday, the hacking group identified as APT29, which Western intelligence alleges acts on behalf of Russia’s SVR foreign spy agency, attempted to deceive “key German political figures” with a fraudulent email purporting to be an invitation to a dinner event hosted by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Germany’s center-right political party, scheduled for March 1.
The alert distributed by Germany’s BSI cyber agency echoed the same incident, stating that state-backed cyber operatives were targeting German political parties in a bid to establish long-term access and extract data.
The CDU responded, stating that it has long been subjected to digital attacks from both domestic and foreign entities and that they were promptly notified about this specific attack. They clarified that there was no official CDU dinner scheduled for March 1; the event was entirely fictitious.
Although the alert did not attribute responsibility, neither did Mandiant or the BSI provide specifics regarding the targets. The BSI did not respond immediately to a request for comment, and the Russian embassy in Washington did not reply to an email seeking comment.
The BSI alert highlighted foreign interests in spying on politicians, particularly in the context of the “upcoming European elections,” while Mandiant suggested that the targeting aligned with Moscow’s broader agenda, focusing on its ongoing conflict with Kyiv.
Dan Black of Mandiant remarked, “This latest targeting is not just about going after Germany or its politicians; it is part of Russia’s wider effort aimed at finding ways to undermine European support for Ukraine.”
Germany, among other Western nations, has extended military support to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. Relations between Berlin and Moscow have reportedly remained largely strained, as acknowledged by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December.
The alleged hacking campaign was initially reported by Germany’s Der Spiegel earlier on Friday.
