European Union accuses Russia of “Ghostwriter” attacks on politicians and civilians

THE European Union denounced today (24/9) its “unacceptable” cyber espionage activities Russia to the detriment of European political officials and is considering measures to penalize these activities.

“Some EU member states have spotted malicious cyber-activities, collectively dubbed ‘Ghostwriter’, and linked them to the Russian state,” said European Foreign Minister Josep Borrell in a statement issued on behalf of the 27 EU, as transmitted by ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ.

“These activities are unacceptable because they seek to threaten our integrity and security, the democratic values ​​and principles and the fundamental functioning of our democracies (…) especially by allowing misinformation and manipulation of information,” he warned.

The attacks targeted parliamentarians, public officials, politicians, journalists and members of civil society by gaining access to information systems and personal accounts and stealing data, the statement said.

Germany accuses Russian secret services of “phishing” attacks

The German government has even accused the Russian secret services of carrying out “phishing” attacks targeting German parliamentarians and denounced attempts to influence the country’s parliamentary elections on Sunday.

German justice has launched an investigation “into suspicions of foreign intelligence activity”.

“The EU and its Member States categorically denounce these malicious cyber-activities, which all stakeholders must end immediately,” said Josep Borrell.

“We call on the Russian Federation to comply with the standards of responsible conduct of states in cyberspace. “The EU will return to this issue in the coming meetings and will consider taking new measures,” he said.