Russia spies on companies and carries out cyber attacks

cybersecurity

The Office for the Protection of the Constitution warned of an increase in cyber attacks on German companies and research institutions.

(Photo: dpa)

Berlin The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has tightened its warning of Russian espionage attacks on the German economy. In addition to attacks on the IT infrastructure, the authority refers to possible recruitment attempts by Russian citizens who work for German companies.

As a result of the sanctions, Russia’s economy has been cut off from know-how and technologies from western countries, the intelligence agency said in a statement published on Tuesday. “Consequently, the pressure on the intelligence services to gain access to people with relevant knowledge and to technologies (…) is likely to increase.”

Following Moscow’s attack on Ukraine on February 24, Europe, the United States and other western countries have imposed tough sanctions on Russia. According to information from security circles, even the armaments industry is now suffering from the embargo because semiconductors and other high-tech components are missing. Russia itself is not able to produce them.

The country could cover part of its needs through purchases on the black market, as reported by industry representatives with the relevant industry knowledge. However, in order to build up the necessary skills yourself, a transfer of knowledge from abroad is necessary.

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From the point of view of the protection of the constitution, the secret services could therefore try to recruit Russian citizens who work for German companies. The authority therefore called on companies to sensitize employees with a Russian passport to the danger and to report possible suspected cases.

Warning of an increase in cyber attacks on German companies

At the same time, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution warned of an increase in cyber attacks on German companies and research institutions. The pro-Russian group Killnet is currently conducting so-called DDoS attacks on its websites, the agency said. Massive requests are made to the websites until they collapse.

Read more about the threat of Russian cyberattacks and counter-reactions:

In addition to Killnet, the cybercriminal group Revil has also become active again, it was said. Representatives of this association were arrested by the Russian authorities last autumn. Now new malware has appeared that can presumably be assigned to Revil.

Only recently there were cyber attacks on German authorities and ministries carried out by the hacker group Killnet. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) was also affected, as BKA Vice President Martina Link reported last week at the presentation of the Federal Cybercrime 2021 situation report in Berlin.

The spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Maximilian Kall, said that the relatively simple overload attacks had been successfully repelled and, according to the current state of knowledge, had not caused any permanent damage. No data was leaked either.

Significant damage from ransomware attacks on businesses

The BKA pointed out that the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine was also being waged in cyberspace “to a not inconsiderable extent”. Hacker groups showing solidarity with the Russian side can be observed, as can those who want to support Ukraine, Link said. “The boundaries between criminals and possibly state-controlled cyber groups are becoming blurred.”

According to the current BKA situation report, the number of recorded cyber crimes reached a new high last year. Accordingly, almost 147,000 offenses were registered, which corresponds to an increase of more than twelve percent compared to the previous year.

“In addition to the purely monetary damage, ransomware attacks on companies, critical infrastructure and public administration or entire supply chains also impaired the functioning of the community at home and abroad,” said BKA Vice President Martina Link. In the area of ​​ransomware in particular, the threat potential in 2021 had increased again “significantly”.

In ransomware attacks, hackers encrypt data or lock operating systems and then demand a ransom for decryption. According to a study by the digital association Bitkom, the damage caused by blackmail with stolen or encrypted data has increased by more than 450 percent within two years.

More: Russian hackers attack websites of German authorities

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