Russian Hackers Suspected In Cyberattack On German Parliament

Berlin (Alliance News) - Prominent Russian hacker group Sofacy is suspected of being behind a six-month-long cyberattack against the German parliament that ended on May 20, an expert familiar with the matter told dpa Friday.

There was "concrete evidence" that the attackers, who used several waves of Trojan viruses to gradually extend their access to the so-called Parlacom network, were members of the Sofacy group, sometimes referred to as APT28.

The group has been operating since 2006 and is funded by the government, the source said.

The news comes after parliamentarians were told to remain on high alert and be sure to follow cybersecurity guidelines in the future, according to an email seen by dpa on Friday.

"Even though data siphoning ended on May 20, the threat is not over," Bundestag director Horst Risse wrote in the email, which also pointed to the fact that parliamentarians should refrain from opening unknown links and files sent by email.

Recipients of the memo were also advised to change their passwords regularly and use encryption software for sensitive documents.

Copyright dpa