Chinese hackers are accused of infiltrating Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy.
After long-standing suspicions, the German government is now certain: China was behind a cyberattack on a federal agency three years ago. For the first time since 1989, the Chinese ambassador has been summoned.
The German government has accused Chinese hackers of a significant cyberattack on the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) in 2021. “Today we know that state-controlled Chinese cyber actors infiltrated the BKG’s network for espionage purposes,” said a spokesperson for the Foreign Office in Berlin. The Chinese ambassador has been summoned based on these findings.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) described the incident as a “severe cyberattack,” highlighting the “significant threat posed by Chinese cyberattacks and espionage.” The government strongly condemns the cyberattack by “state-controlled Chinese actors” against the BKG, the Foreign Office spokesperson stated. The attribution of the attack was “based on thorough technical analysis,” he added.
Critical agency targeted
The BKG, which provides geospatial data, plays an essential role, including for critical infrastructure entities such as energy suppliers, waterworks, and transportation companies. The agency, based in Frankfurt am Main, falls under the Interior Ministry.
The Interior Ministry’s spokesperson explained that the attackers used so-called obfuscation networks. This term refers to hackers using devices in private households and businesses to conceal their tracks during an attack.
Strong diplomatic signal
The investigation was primarily led by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Only today did the German government see enough evidence to publicly name the Chinese state as the perpetrator. Summoning the ambassador is a strong diplomatic signal, expressing the government’s protest against the cyberattack.
According to the AFP news agency, this is the first time since 1989 that the Foreign Office has summoned the Chinese ambassador in Berlin. Back then, the reason was the violent suppression of protests in Tiananmen Square, where China’s army used tanks against students demonstrating for more democracy.
Long-standing warnings about China
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and other government agencies have been warning for years about the threat of cyberattacks from China. “Security authorities expect a further intensification of state-sponsored espionage and influence activities by China,” the Interior Ministry stated. “China pursues an aggressive cyber strategy, aiming to contribute significantly to its industrial and geopolitical goals through extensive knowledge transfer.”
The Interior Ministry also noted that last year, “presumably state or state-controlled Chinese cyber actors” conducted targeted cyberattacks on companies, authorities, private individuals, and political institutions.
The goal is to obtain information about political decision-making processes and the German government’s positions on issues of German and European foreign policy. In this context, companies close to political institutions, such as IT service providers, are also attacked and “used as gateways for subsequent attacks.”
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