Germany summons the Russian ambassador serving as an envoy in Berlin for explanations, following a series of cyberattacks targeting the Social Democratic Party, as well as the country’s defense and aerospace sectors.

The Ministry of Interior attributed these cyberattacks to the Russian military intelligence service GRU. APT 28, the group behind the attacks in 2022 and linked to GRU, exploited an unknown security vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook for a significant period, allowing access to email accounts.

“Russian cyberattacks pose a threat to our democracy, and we are addressing them decisively,” emphasized Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, adding that Germany is cooperating with the EU and NATO. “Under no circumstances will we allow ourselves to be intimidated by the Russian regime,” she added.

Faeser noted the critical importance of addressing such attacks from Russia, especially in light of the European elections and other electoral contests this year.

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This warning from German Foreign Minister Annelena Baerbock to Moscow preceded the summoning, indicating that there would be consequences for the attacks, which caused many German websites to go offline.

APT 28, also known as Fancy Bear, has been operating globally since at least 2004, primarily in the field of cyber espionage. According to German authorities, it is one of the most active and dangerous cyberattack groups worldwide.