Germany Accuses Russia of Cyberattacks Targeting Air Safety and Election Integrity

On Friday, Germany accused Russia of conducting a cyberattack aimed at its air traffic control and disseminating disinformation in the lead-up to the general elections in February. Russia dismissed these allegations as «absurd» and «groundless.»

A representative from the German Foreign Ministry stated that intelligence agencies had evidence linking hacker groups affiliated with Russia’s military intelligence, the GRU, to both the cyber intrusion and the misinformation initiatives.

“Through extensive analysis by our intelligence agencies, we have clearly traced the origins of these actions and established Moscow’s accountability,” the spokesperson conveyed during a standard press briefing.

“We can attribute the cyberattack on German Air Safety that occurred in August 2024 to the hacking group APT28, also referred to as Fancy Bear,” he remarked.

“Our intelligence assessments confirm that the Russian GRU is accountable for this incident,” the spokesperson added.

He also mentioned that Russia attempted to sway the February parliamentary elections, which were ultimately won by Chancellor Friedrich Merz and saw the far-right AfD achieve its highest result yet by finishing in second place.

“Additionally, we can now unequivocally state that Russia, via the Storm 1516 campaign, aimed to influence and destabilize the recent federal election,» he stated at a press conference.

The spokesperson explained that a Moscow think tank supported by the GRU, along with other groups, propagated artificially generated content and deepfake images with the intent of creating societal divisions and eroding trust in democratic institutions.

In response, the Russian Embassy in Berlin released a statement to AFP categorically denying any involvement by Russia in these activities.

“The claims regarding the participation of Russian state entities in these matters and the activities of hacker groups are unfounded, baseless, and ridiculous,” the statement read.

Security sources indicated that much of the information propagated by the Storm 1516 campaign included false accusations against Merz and other notable politicians such as former Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and former Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, who are prominent members of the Greens party.

AFP’s German Fact Check service refuted two additional assertions made in the campaign aimed at undermining electoral trust, specifically that the AfD had been omitted from ballots in Leipzig and that votes for the party in Hamburg were destroyed prior to counting.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson asserted that Germany possesses “solid evidence” of Russia’s involvement in these operations, but he refrained from divulging further details, citing the confidentiality of German intelligence work.

Sinan Selen, head of the BfV domestic intelligence agency, commented that “the ‘Storm-1516’ campaign concretely illustrates how our democratic system is under assault.”

“This disinformation network consists of pro-Russian influencers with extensive followings, conspiracy theories, and far-right extremist groups,” Selen noted.

The German Foreign Ministry spokesperson cautioned that Berlin intends to implement “a series of countermeasures to hold Russia accountable for its hybrid actions, in close cooperation with our European partners.”

Germany plans to endorse “new individual sanctions against hybrid operatives at the European level,” he stated, without specifying who these individuals would be.

He also mentioned that starting in January, EU nations would «monitor cross-border travel by Russian diplomats within the Schengen Zone,” with the aim of enhancing information sharing and minimizing intelligence risks.

Governments throughout Europe are vigilant regarding alleged Russian espionage, drone surveillance, sabotage, as well as cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns.

Germany has been the second-largest provider of aid to Ukraine since Russia initiated its full-scale invasion in 2022 and has accused Moscow of orchestrating drone flights near various European airports in recent months.