German Foreign Minister warns consequences of Russian Cyberattack

• The group called APT28, steered by Russia's military intelligence service, was responsible for the attack.
• The EU's Council also stated that the cyber campaign targeted Czechia's institutions.
• Baerbock is currently visiting Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, focusing on security policy.

On Friday, Germany's top diplomat declared that Russia would face consequences after accusing its military intelligence service of orchestrating an "absolutely intolerable" cyberattack. NATO and European Union member countries announced that they would not allow Russia's "malicious" behavior in cyberspace to go unanswered. Relations between Russia and Germany were already tense, with Germany providing military support to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Russian state hackers of orchestrating a cyberattack last year that targeted the Social Democrats, the leading party in the governing coalition.

“Russian state hackers attacked Germany in cyberspace,” she said at a news conference in the Australian city of Adelaide. “We can attribute this attack to the group called APT28, which is steered by the military intelligence service of Russia.”

“This is intolerable and unacceptable and will have consequences,” she said.

Later, the Council of the EU stated that Czechia’s institutions had also been a target of the cyber campaign.

In a statement by the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, the bloc’s nations said they “strongly condemn the malicious cyber campaign conducted by the Russia-controlled Advanced Persistent Threat Actor 28 (APT28) against Germany and Czechia.”

The EU pointed out that it had previously imposed sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for APT28 attacks targeting the German parliament in 2015. It asserted that it would not tolerate the continuation of such attacks, especially with EU elections approaching in June.

NATO stated that APT28 targeted “other national governmental entities, critical infrastructure operators, and other entities across the Alliance,” including in Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Sweden.

“The North Atlantic Council, the principal political decision-making body within NATO, said, 'We are determined to employ the necessary capabilities to deter, defend against, and counter the full spectrum of cyber threats to support each other, including by considering coordinated responses."

Baerbock is visiting Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, focusing on security policy as China seeks to exert influence in the Pacific region.

“The defense cooperation between Germany and Australia is close and we would like to deepen it further and expand it together because we are in a situation where we face similar threats,” said Baerbock, the first German foreign minister to visit Australia in 13 years.

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