Germany blames China for ‘serious’ cyber attack

Germany has blamed China for a “serious” cyber attack in 2021 on its government agency for precision mapping, which potentially exposed sensitive information vital to protecting critical infrastructure. German interior minister Nancy Faeser on Wednesday condemned the Chinese state actors responsible “in the strongest possible terms”. The German foreign office summoned the Chinese ambassador in Berlin for a formal complaint.

Independent cyber security experts in 2021 had pointed to Beijing’s likely involvement, identifying the digital fingerprints of groups known as APT15 and APT31 — both known to be sophisticated, established hacking groups run directly by the Chinese Ministry of State Security.