Germany Summons Russian Ambassador Over Cyberattack, Disinformation

Germany has summoned the Russian ambassador to its Foreign Office in Berlin following a major cyberattack on the country’s air traffic control system and a coordinated disinformation campaign targeting German electoral processes, a ministry spokesman announced Friday.

The cyberattack, which occurred in August 2024, has been definitively linked to Fancy Bear, a notorious Russian hacker group with established ties to Moscow’s intelligence services. German officials have presented evidence directly implicating Russia’s military intelligence agency in the digital assault.

“Our intelligence findings prove that the Russian military intelligence service GRU is responsible for this attack,” the Foreign Office spokesman stated, highlighting the serious nature of the attribution.

The summoning represents a significant diplomatic escalation in German-Russian relations, which have deteriorated steadily since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure like air traffic control systems pose substantial risks to public safety and national security, potentially disrupting flight operations and endangering lives.

Beyond the cyberattack, German authorities revealed they have gathered conclusive evidence that Russia has engaged in a persistent campaign to undermine Germany’s democratic processes. Officials identified an operation codenamed “Storm 1516,” which has been active since early 2024 with the primary objective of destabilizing Western elections, including Germany’s.

“Russia attempted to influence and destabilize both the last federal election and the internal affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany on an ongoing basis through the Storm 1516 campaign,” the spokesman explained.

The operation’s tactics became particularly evident just days before Germany’s parliamentary election on February 23, 2025, when German security agencies uncovered fake videos circulating online that falsely depicted instances of ballot rigging. Government officials promptly identified these videos as part of a Russian disinformation effort designed to undermine public confidence in the electoral process.

This incident comes amid growing concerns across Europe and North America about foreign interference in democratic elections. Intelligence agencies from multiple Western nations have documented increasingly sophisticated Russian operations combining cyberattacks, social media manipulation, and targeted disinformation to influence electoral outcomes and exacerbate political divisions.

Cybersecurity experts note that attacks on critical infrastructure like air traffic control systems represent a particularly dangerous escalation. Such systems manage thousands of flights daily across German airspace, coordinating takeoffs, landings, and routing for both commercial and military aircraft.

The Fancy Bear group, also known by security researchers as APT28, has been implicated in numerous high-profile cyberattacks worldwide, including the 2016 Democratic National Committee hack in the United States and attacks on the World Anti-Doping Agency. The group’s persistent targeting of Western government agencies, defense contractors, and critical infrastructure has made it one of the most notorious state-sponsored hacking collectives.

Germany’s decisive diplomatic response comes as European nations increasingly coordinate their approach to Russian cyber threats. The European Union has developed a cyber diplomacy toolbox that includes sanctions and diplomatic measures to counter such activities.

Relations between Berlin and Moscow have reached their lowest point in decades. Germany, once Russia’s most important European economic partner, has significantly reduced its dependence on Russian energy since 2022 and has become one of Ukraine’s largest military supporters outside the United States.

The German Foreign Office did not immediately disclose what specific demands or protests were presented to the Russian ambassador during the summoning, but such diplomatic actions typically involve formal protests and potential warnings about consequences if the hostile activities continue.

Russian officials have consistently denied involvement in cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns targeting Western democracies, despite mounting evidence from multiple intelligence agencies and cybersecurity firms documenting these operations.