Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has warned against a cyber group belonging to Russian military intelligence (GRU) Unit 29155. The agency said it has carried out cyberattacks against NATO and EU countries.
In a post on social media platform X on Monday, the Bundesverfassungsschutz(BfV) and its partners said it was issuing a warning against the group known as UNC2589. The international partners include the FBI, U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA and the NSA.
BfV said GRU Unit 29155 was “responsible for computer network operations against global targets for the purposes of espionage, sabotage, and reputational harm since at least 2020.”
It cautioned that the unit was behind the WhisperGate malware attacks against Ukrainian targets in January 2022, a month before Russia invaded the country. The Unit is also known as Cadet Blizzard or Ember Bear.
The intelligence agency said the group conducts activities for the purpose of espionage and sabotage that often involve defacing websites and publishing stolen data.
Since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe has faced heightened anxiety over suspected Russian spies.
Cyber Attack On SPD
The warning comes after Berlin accused Moscow of a spate of cyberattacks against Germany’s ruling Social Democrats (SPD), and a number of German companies. Several sectors such as the IT, logistics, defence and aerospace were under a slew of cyberattacks. These attacks involved stealing and publishing sensitive data.
The same GRU unit is also suspected of being behind the 2018 poisonings of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK.
Earlier this year, Germany’s top diplomat had said Russia will face consequences for an “absolutely intolerable” cyberattack.
NATO and European Union member countries had added that they will not let Russia’s “malicious” behaviour in cyberspace go unanswered.
Relations between Russia and Germany remain tense, with Germany providing military support to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.
