Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) affected by a major cyberattack on Saturday (1 June), according to Euaractiv.
Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the country’s leading opposition party, suffered a major cyberattack. As a precautionary measure, the party has shut down part of its IT infrastructure, authorities said on Saturday.
“There was a serious cyber attack on the CDU network,” Germany’s Interior Ministry said in a statement, adding security authorities were working intensively to fend off and investigate the attack, and prevent further damage.
The ministry did not reveal any details about the scale of the attack or the alleged perpetrators, but added that “the manner in which the attack was carried out points to a very professional actor.”
News of the attack came after a major European special operation to combat international cybercrime led to four arrests in Ukraine and Armenia on Thursday.
The ministry said security authorities had strengthened all protection measures against digital and hybrid threats, adding that the incident showed how important this was, especially in the run-up to the European Parliament elections, which are due to take place from 6-9 June.
This is not the first time that parties in Germany have come under cyberattack. In early May, the German government accused Russian intelligence services of hacking into email accounts belonging to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party last year.
