Germany and Czech Republic Accuse Russia of Mass Cyberattacks - EU and NATO Condemn Aggressor's Behaviour

Germany and the Czech Republic have accused Russia of numerous cyberattacks.  The German government today announced that it has summoned the Russian embassy's charge d'affaires after Berlin accused Russian intelligence services of involvement in cyberattacks, including against members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

In turn, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that since last year, some Czech institutions have been targeted by attacks that exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in the Microsoft Outlook application - the method and focus of the attacks matched the profile of the APT28 group, which is linked to Russia's GRU military intelligence service.

"The Czech Republic, together with Germany, the European Union, NATO and international partners, strongly condemns the activities of the Russian state actor APT28, which is conducting a long campaign of cyber espionage in European countries," the Czech Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Technical advice and cooperation were offered to the affected countries to strengthen security measures. APT28 has also been targeted in the Czech Republic as part of the global Operation Dying Ember.

Germany, a NATO member, has been among the Western countries providing military support to Ukraine as it battles Russian invasion, and there have also been recent accusations of increased spying.

In June 2023, the SPD announced that earlier that year, cybercriminals had attacked email accounts belonging to its leaders.

The European Union, of which Berlin and Prague are members, on Friday condemned the "malicious cyber campaign" against the two countries. The bloc warned that it would use the "full range" of tools to respond.

NATO also expressed solidarity with Germany and the Czech Republic over the cyberattacks carried out by a Russian hacker group and is ready to consider a coordinated response to the threat.