Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution: – Europe is increasingly becoming a victim of Russian sabotage

“The aim would have been to identify people who could be susceptible to Russian attempts to influence or initiate,” says a current security memo from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

The scale of Russian sabotage in Europe depends on the situation in the war in Ukraine and on the development of the conflict between Russia and the West. The security advice for the economy continues: “The cases observed throughout Europe since 2023, as well as the increased indications of possible activities in Germany, currently lead to an adjusted assessment: there is an increased risk with regard to sabotage activities or corresponding preparatory actions in Germany.”

“Hacktivism groups”
At the same time, cyberattacks by pro-Russian hackers are still being detected on the websites of German authorities and companies. So far, however, the effects of such attacks by ‘hacktivism groups’ have usually been limited in time and the affected websites have only been temporarily unavailable.

Arson and vandalism
In other European countries, several cases of arson or attempted arson are currently being investigated. There are also investigations into vandalism and propaganda activities that can be attributed to Russian intelligence services. For this purpose, ‘low-level agents’ are recruited – mainly young, Russian-speaking people who are pro-Russian and want to make a quick buck.