The West accuses Russia of computer attacks against six European countries

– The United States strongly condemns this malicious cyber activity, says Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US State Department.

He believes that it is the Russian military intelligence organization GRU that is behind computer attacks once morest Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden.

Germany also points the finger at the GRU. Earlier on Friday, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock held a press conference on the matter during a visit to Australia.

– This is totally unacceptable and will have consequences, she said.

– Undermines democracy

In a statement from NATO, it is stated that the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) has been exposed to hacker attacks. The same must have been the case with Czech institutions.

– We condemn activities that aim to undermine our democratic institutions, national security and free societies, says the NATO statement.

Few details of the attacks are known so far, but the German Interior Ministry says they did not just target the SPD. The hacking, which began in 2022, is said to have also affected the country’s logistics, defence, aerospace and IT sectors.

Russia’s chargé d’affaires in Berlin was called into the carpet on Friday. The Russian embassy in the city rejects the accusations and denies that Russia has anything to do with computer attacks once morest Germany.

Notifies response

NATO and the EU also refer to Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden as victims of Russian computer attacks.

– I strongly condemn Russia’s malicious cyber activities once morest NATO allies, including Germany and the Czech Republic, writes NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the messaging service X, formerly Twitter.

On behalf of EU countries, Foreign Minister Josep Borrell condemns what he calls a malicious cyber campaign and promises to respond with all the tools at their disposal.

– The campaign shows Russia’s continuing pattern of irresponsible behavior by attacking democratic institutions, public enterprises and critical infrastructure, the statement from the union says.

Norway condemns

The Czech Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the country has been subjected to a number of hacker attacks.

– Some Czech institutions have been the target of cyber attacks that have exploited a previously unknown weakness in Microsoft Outlook from 2023, the statement from the ministry says.

Norway also strongly condemns the hacker attacks.

– Norway and NATO stand together in solidarity with Germany and the Czech Republic in this matter, says State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson (Ap) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to NTB.

– We strongly condemn cyber activity that is intended to undermine our democratic institutions, our national security and our free and open societies. We must strengthen compliance with international laws and regulations for how states must behave responsibly in cyberspace, says Petersson.