The United States has condemned the malicious cyber operations launched by Russia’s General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate against Germany and other European targets.
“We join Germany in attributing specific malign activity carried out by APT28 that targeted a German political party,” the Department of State said in a statement Friday.
“We call on Russia to stop this malicious activity and abide by its international commitments and obligations.”
The agency expressed its support after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed that the 2023 cyberattack against the Social Democratic Party was sponsored by the group, “which is steered by the military intelligence service of Russia.”
According to the State Department, the hacking group has a long record of destabilizing and disruptive behavior. Threat actors associated with APT28 were previously indicted and designated for their roles in illicit cyber activities designed to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.
To further support Germany’s efforts to address the cyber incident, the Department of Justice coordinated with the European country to remediate a network of home and office routers that APT28 used to execute malicious activities.
