Hacker crime in Berlin

China’s ambassador summoned over cyber attack

The German government called on China to "refrain from and prevent such actions in the future".(Bild: Herr Loeffler -stock.adobe.com)

Germany has summoned China's ambassador in Berlin to the Foreign Office over a cyberattack in 2021. "Today we know that state-controlled Chinese cyber actors have infiltrated the BKG network for espionage purposes," said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Berlin.

The German government is certain that Chinese-controlled hackers were behind the attack on the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) at the end of 2021.

Reaction was preceded by "thorough technical analysis"
The attack was attributed "on the basis of a thorough technical analysis" and reliable information from the intelligence services, the spokesperson emphasized. The Federal Office, which provides geodata, plays an important role, including for critical infrastructure facilities such as energy suppliers, waterworks and transport companies. It also merges its own data with that of the federal states and third-party providers.

Maximilian Kall, spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior, explained that the attackers had used so-called obfuscation networks. According to the findings of the security authorities, the attackers had compromised the end devices of private individuals and companies in order to use them for their cyberattack on the Federal Office. One network area of the Federal Office was affected. The network was rebuilt in accordance with the recommendations of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). It is considered certain that the hackers were successfully excluded from the BKG's networks.

The German government condemns the cyber attack in the strongest possible terms, the spokesperson added. At the same time, the German government called on China to "refrain from and prevent such actions in the future".