German intelligence launches task force to combat foreign election interference

Germany’s domestic intelligence service (BfV) has established a special task force to counter potential cyberattacks, espionage, sabotage and disinformation campaigns ahead of the upcoming federal election.

“Such key political events can always become the target of undue influence by foreign powers seeking to pursue their strategic goals,” the BfV said in a statement on Friday.

The task force will include specialists from the intelligence service, federal and state security authorities, as well as international partners. While the BfV has not provided details on how the task force will operate, it stated that it aims to detect malicious activities as early as possible and prevent threat actors from influencing the elections.

Germany is set to hold a snap election on February 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition earlier this November. 

According to the BfV, Russia likely has “the greatest and most obvious interest” in influencing the election, particularly given the ongoing war in Ukraine. Germany is Ukraine’s second-largest financial and military supporter.

On Monday, Scholz visited Kyiv for the first time since June 2022, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and pledging $680 million worth of arms to be delivered this December.

“I want to make it clear here on the ground that Germany will remain Ukraine’s strongest supporter in Europe,” Scholz said upon his arrival.

Russia is known for targeting Ukraine’s allies through digital means. According to the BfV, the Kremlin is engaged in an “information war” with Germany, using propaganda and disinformation “to create or deepen insecurities and divisions in German society, reduce support for Ukraine, and influence political decisions.”

Russia-aligned threat groups, including APT28 and Ghostwriter, have been particularly active during previous elections, German intelligence reported.

Earlier this year, Germany’s leading opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), suffered a large-scale cyberattack in June. In May, the country disclosed a significant cyberattack on the Social Democratic Party (SPD), attributed to APT28 hackers.

In November, the German Interior Ministry reported that the country’s cyber authorities have increased their vigilance ahead of the upcoming national election. The country’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) reported that the number of malware variants targeting German systems has increased by 26% over the past year.

Researchers identified at least 22 state-sponsored hacker groups that are conducting cyber espionage against German public authorities and private businesses. The number of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks has doubled in the first half of this year.

The BfV also warned that foreign actors might engage in sabotage. In October, the EU condemned Russia for an "increasing number" of hybrid operations targeting the bloc. This statement followed reports of sabotage attempts against weapons manufacturers for Ukraine, satellite communications disruptions, airspace violations, and physical attacks on individuals within the EU.

“It is not possible to reliably predict which intelligence and security-threatening activities will ultimately occur in the context of the election,” the BfV noted. “Influential actors generally act opportunistically — they will seek to exploit events to their advantage or amplify them in their narratives.”