Russia rejected allegations that its military intelligence was responsible for a hacking attack on Germany’s parliament, after media reports that data had been stolen including emails from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s constituency office.
The Russian embassy said in a statement that German officials so far had not been able to present facts to underpin such accusations against Moscow.
“This hackneyed story is trying to put blame on Russia for cyber warfare, attempts at intimidation, destabilisation and disinformation towards the EU,” it said.
Der Spiegel magazine has reported that Russia’s GRU military intelligence service hacked into the German parliament in 2015 and appeared to have obtained many emails from Merkel’s constituency office.
Asked about the reports, Merkel told parliament earlier this month she would continue efforts to improve ties with Russia despite hacking attacks which do not make that any easier. She said she took such issues very seriously.
The Russian government has denied previous allegations of hacking abroad, including U.S. accusations it was responsible for leaking emails of Democrats in 2016 as part of an effort to help Donald Trump win the U.S. presidential election.
