Germany warns of consequences for alleged Russian cyber attack

Russia will face consequences for a cyber attack allegedly orchestrated by a group with ties to its military intelligence, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Friday.

Germany has been among the Western nations providing Ukraine military support in its war with Russia, with President Vladimir Putin saying in December that ties between the two countries stay largely frozen.

In January 2023, Berlin said Russian activist hackers knocked several German websites offline in response to its decision to send tanks to Ukraine, although with little tangible effect.

"We can now clearly attribute last year's attack to the Russian group APT28, which is controlled by the Russian military intelligence service GRU," Baerbock told a press conference in Adelaide.

"In other words, Russian state hackers have attacked Germany in cyberspace," added Baerbock, who is visiting Australia to meet counterpart Penny Wong. "This is completely unacceptable and will not remain without consequences."

In March, Germany's cybersecurity agency and researchers working for Google owner Alphabet said a similar group, called APT29, had been caught targeting several German political parties, aiming to burrow into their networks and steal data.