Germany protests to Russia over pre-election cyberattacks

By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — The German Foreign Ministry says Berlin has protested to Russia over attempts to steal data from lawmakers that it suspects may have been in preparation to spread disinformation before the upcoming German election. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Andrea Sasse said Monday that a hacker outfit called Ghostwriter has been “combining conventional cyberattacks with disinformation and influence operations.” Sasse also said that activities targeting Germany have been observed “for some time.” She said the German government has “reliable information” linking Ghostwriter to Russia’s GRU military intelligence service. Sasse wouldn’t comment on the extent of the cyberattacks or possible damage. She said only that they “are of course completely unacceptable.”