A German foreign ministry spokesman said Russian military intelligence was behind a “cyber-attack against Berlin air traffic control in August 2024,” accusing Moscow of trying to “influence and destabilize” Germany’s political process as part of a broader disinformation campaign of the Russian cyber warfare has repeatedly denied.
Russia “categorically rejected” the claims, calling them “baseless, unfounded and absurd.”
Berlin says the allegations point to a familiar pattern of Russia’s disinformation warfare, in which cyber intrusions are paired with information operations designed to undermine trust in democratic institutions.
German officials argue the campaign, Storm 1516, fits squarely into a wider Russian disinformation strategy seen across Europe.
Berlin Points to Fancy Bear
German officials said the August incident could be attributed to Fancy Bear, a hacking group long linked by Western governments and security researchers to Russia’s GRU.
“Our intelligence findings prove that the Russian military intelligence service GRU bears responsibility for this attack,” the spokesman said.
Germany’s air navigation service provider confirmed its office communications were hacked but said flights were unaffected, suggesting the intrusion targeted back-end systems.
Berlin nonetheless framed the incident as part of a sustained effort to counter Russian disinformation campaigns that have intensified since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Officials say these operations increasingly rely on Russian disinformation on social media, where false narratives can spread rapidly and evade traditional safeguards.
Electoral Digital Interference
On elections, the ministry said security agencies identified fake videos alleging ballot manipulation just days before Germans voted – example of what authorities say was Russian election disinformation designed to erode public confidence.
The group Storm 1516 reportedly focused in part on Green candidate, Robert Habeck, and CDU candidate Friedrich Merz, now chancellor.
Investigators also flagged the use of Russian disinformation to manipulate elections, which amplify misleading content at scale. Analysts say these tactics are another push by Moscow to exploit political divisions and depress voter trust before elections.
Berlin said it would respond “in close co-ordination with its European partners” and promised countermeasures to make Russia “pay a price for its hybrid actions,” part of a wider effort to stop Russian disinformation in Europe.
Election Security’s a Resources Problem
Germany’s accusations land as democracies across Europe and the United States grapple with how to defend elections against cyberattacks, spoofed websites, and AI-generated misinformation key fronts in fighting Russian disinformation tactics.
In the US, election officials have relied heavily on federally supported coordination through information-sharing hubs. But recently, support has been disrupted with pullback raising alarms that election disinformation from the Russian cyber warfare could find easier entry points, particularly in under-resourced jurisdictions.
“We have not turned anything off,” according to CIS CEO John Gilligan, on how the organization tried to keep services running during the transition.
But local officials warn the most vulnerable jurisdictions may be priced out on the Russian cyber warfare. Florida elections supervisor Paul Lux said many “cyber underserved” offices are “not equipped to combat nation-state actors on their own,” especially as Russian disinformation bots for election manipulation grow more sophisticated.
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