CDU has been hit

Next major cyber attack on German party

CDU leader Friedrich Merz

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur)

One year after a hacker attack on the German SPD party, the CDU has also fallen victim to an apparently large-scale cyber attack. The nature of the attack points to a "very professional actor", the German Ministry of the Interior (BMI) announced.

As the BMI explained on Saturday, the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) were "intensively involved in fending off the attack".

The BSI and BfV were also working to investigate the "serious" attack and prevent further damage. The ministry did not want to comment on the extent of the damage to the CDU or the attacker. The BfV will issue a warning to all parties represented in the Bundestag in the course of Saturday.

CDU leader informed
"Our security authorities have ramped up all protective measures against digital and hybrid threats and are providing information on the dangers," explained the BMI spokesperson. "We are once again seeing how necessary this is, especially before elections." According to government sources, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) has already discussed the attack with CDU leader Friedrich Merz.

Last year, according to EU information, the APT 28 group controlled by the Russian military intelligence service GRU attacked the SPD and several German companies from the logistics, armaments, aerospace and IT sectors, as well as foundations and associations. According to the Ministry of the Interior, several email accounts at the SPD were compromised.