Germany has blamed Russian state-sponsored hackers for the "unacceptable" cyber-attack on members of the Social Democratic Party and warned there will be consequences.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the German federal government's investigation into who was behind the cyberattack on the SPD in 2023 had just concluded.
"Today we can say unequivocally (that) we can attribute this cyber-attack to a group called APT28, which is led by Russia's military intelligence," she told a news conference during a visit to Australia.
"In other words, this was a state-sponsored Russian cyber-attack against Germany - that is absolutely unacceptable and unacceptable and there will be consequences."
APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, has been accused of dozens of cyberattacks in countries around the world.
Baerbock gave no further details about the cyberattack on the SPD.
Last year, the European Union's computer security response unit, CERT-EU, noted a report in German media that an SPD executive had been the target of a cyberattack in January 2023, "leading to a possible data disclosure."
It said there were reportedly "concrete indications" that she was of Russian origin. / BGNES
