BRUSSELS: Germany鈥檚 top diplomat on Friday said Russia will face consequences after accusing its military intelligence service of masterminding an 鈥渁bsolutely intolerable鈥� cyberattack, as NATO and European Union member countries said they will not let Russia鈥檚 鈥渕alicious鈥� behavior in cyberspace go unanswered.
Relations between Russia and Germany were already tense, with Germany providing military support to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russian state hackers were behind a cyberattack last year that targeted the Social Democrats, the leading party in the governing coalition.
鈥淩ussian state hackers attacked Germany in cyberspace,鈥� she said at a news conference in the Australian city of Adelaide. 鈥淲e can attribute this attack to the group called APT28, which is steered by the military intelligence service of Russia.鈥�
鈥淭his is absolutely intolerable and unacceptable and will have consequences,鈥� she said.
The Council of the EU later said that Czechia鈥檚 institutions have also been a target of the cyber campaign.
In a statement by the EU鈥檚 top diplomat, Josep Borrell, the bloc鈥檚 nations said they 鈥渟trongly condemn the malicious cyber campaign conducted by the Russia-controlled Advanced Persistent Threat Actor 28 (APT28) against Germany and Czechia.鈥�
The EU noted that it had previously imposed sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for APT28 attacks targeting the German parliament in 2015. It said it will not tolerate the continuation of such attacks, particularly with EU elections upcoming in June.
NATO said that APT28 targeted 鈥渙ther national governmental entities, critical infrastructure operators and other entities across the Alliance,鈥� including in Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden.
鈥淲e are determined to employ the necessary capabilities in order to deter, defend against and counter the full spectrum of cyberthreats to support each other, including by considering coordinated responses,鈥� said the North Atlantic Council, the principal political decision-making body within NATO.
Baerbock is visiting Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, with the trip focusing on security policy as China pushes for influence in the Pacific region.
鈥淭he defense cooperation between Germany and Australia is close and we would like to deepen it further and together expand it, because we are in a situation where we face similar threats,鈥� said Baerbock, who is the first German foreign minister to visit Australia in 13 years.
Discussions between Baerbock and Australia counterpart Penny Wong centered on the conflict in Gaza. 鈥淚 think we all understand that the only path out of this cycle of violence that we see in the Middle East at such great cost is one that ultimately ensures a two-state solution,鈥� Wong said.