German foreign minister says Russia will face consequences for monthslong cyber espionage

BRUSSELS (AP) — Germany’s top diplomat on Friday accused Russian agents of “intolerable” hacking of the emails of a key governing party, and joined NATO and European Union countries in warning that Russia’s cyberespionage would have consequences.

Relations between Russia and Germany were already tense, with Germany providing military support to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russian state hackers were behind the hacking of emails of the Social Democrats, the leading party in the governing coalition. Officials said they did so by exploiting Microsoft Outlook.

The German Interior Ministry said in a statement that the hacking campaign began at least as early as March 2022 — a month after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine — with emails at Social Democrat party headquarters accessed beginning that December. It said German companies, including in the defense and aerospace sectors, as well as targets related to the war were also a focus.