Russian Hackers Tried Duping German Politicians Before Elections

Russian spies waged a hacking campaign targeting German political parties by attempting to trick them with fake dinner invitations, according to new research from Mandiant.

The hackers, known as APT29 and linked by Mandiant to Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, have previously been known to target diplomatic entities, but have pivoted for the first time to focus on political parties, a Mandiant report warned. The shift indicates “a broad threat to European and other Western political parties” from across the political spectrum, the report said.