Germany Accuses Russia of Cyberattacks on Air Safety and Election Integrity

On Friday, Germany accused Russia of conducting a cyberattack aimed at its air traffic control system and disseminating disinformation ahead of the general election scheduled for February. Russia dismissed these accusations as «absurd» and «groundless.»

A spokesperson from the German Foreign Ministry stated that the security services possess evidence indicating that hacker groups linked to Russia’s military intelligence agency, GRU, were behind the cyber assault and influence operations.

«Following an extensive analysis by the German intelligence agencies, we have been able to successfully trace the origins of this activity and establish Moscow’s culpability,» the spokesperson remarked.

«We can now definitively connect the cyberattack on German Air Safety that occurred in August 2024 to the hacking group APT28, commonly known as Fancy Bear,» he explained during a regular press briefing.

«Our intelligence assessments firmly indicate that the Russian military intelligence service GRU is responsible for this incident,» he added.

Additionally, he mentioned that Russia attempted to interfere in the parliamentary election in February, which was won by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives, with the far-right AfD achieving its strongest performance to date by coming in second.

«Moreover, we can confirm that Russia, through its Storm 1516 campaign, aimed to influence and destabilize the recent federal elections,» he stated at a press conference.

The spokesperson claimed that a Moscow-based think tank supported by the GRU and other organizations had circulated artificially generated content, including deepfake images, intending to sow division in society and «erode trust in democratic institutions.»

The Russian Embassy in Berlin responded by releasing a statement to AFP, categorically denying any involvement in these activities.

«The allegations regarding the participation of Russian state entities in these incidents and activities of hacker groups are unfounded, baseless, and preposterous,» the statement asserted.

Security sources reported that much of the content promoted by the Storm 1516 campaign included falsehoods about Merz and other notable politicians, such as former Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and former Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, both prominent members of the Greens party.

AFP’s German Fact Check service debunked various claims made in the campaign intended to undermine public confidence in elections, specifically that the AfD was omitted from ballots in Leipzig and that votes cast for the party in Hamburg were destroyed prior to counting.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson indicated that Germany possesses «completely reliable evidence» implicating Russia in these operations, but he refrained from elaborating on the specifics to protect sensitive intelligence work.

Sinan Selen, head of the BfV domestic intelligence agency, commented that «the ‘Storm-1516’ campaign clearly illustrates how our democratic systems are under threat.»

«This ecosystem of disinformation involves prominent pro-Russian influencers, conspiracy theories, and circles of right-wing extremism,» Selen added.

The German Foreign Ministry spokesperson warned that Berlin would implement «a series of countermeasures to hold Russia accountable for its hybrid actions, in close collaboration with our European partners.»

Germany plans to support «new individual sanctions against hybrid actors at the European level,» he noted, without disclosing specific identities.

He also mentioned that starting in January, EU countries would «monitor the cross-border travels of Russian diplomats within the Schengen Area to enhance information sharing and reduce intelligence risks.»

Across Europe, governments remain vigilant regarding alleged Russian espionage, drone surveillance, sabotage operations, as well as cyberattacks and disinformation efforts.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Germany has been the nation’s second-largest provider of aid, and it has accused Moscow of being responsible for drone activities near various European airports in recent months.