Germany’s counterespionage says there is a threat of Russian interference in elections
Russian intelligence services are actively working in Germany and may try to intervene in the upcoming elections, said Hans-Georg Maassen, President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany.
As Maassen noted in an interview with Die Welt, the German State Police fear that Russia will launch a campaign of misinformation in connection with the Bundestag elections. According to Maassen, Moscow can use cyber attacks to accomplish this. He noted that it is legally impossible to prove Russia’s involvement in such cyber attacks, but Germany’s intelligence agencies believe that this will very likely happen.
“In addition, the Russian secret service is quite actively involved in intelligence activities in Germany,” he added.
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany is a special agency that works under the auspices of the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. Its main focus is counter-intelligence and combating extremism.