German Government sharply criticizes Russia for cyberattacks on Bundestag members

Ahead of the 2021 Bundestag elections, German parliamentarians were targeted for at least the third time by cyberattacks attributed to foreign intelligence services. The Federal Government specifically accused the Russian state military intelligence service GRU, linked to the 'Ghostwriter' group, of orchestrating phishing attacks against members of the Union and SPD parties to exfiltrate sensitive information or distribute false narratives. The attacks focused on private and official email accounts and used carefully crafted emails with malicious attachments or links to implant spyware. The government publicly condemned these acts as unacceptable and a risk to national security, demanding cessation in direct discussions with Russian officials and warning of potential further actions. This follows previous known Russian cyber operations, including the large-scale 2015 Bundestag hack.