SLRPNK

Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, issued a warning on Monday that a cybercrime group belonging to Russian military intelligence (GRU) had been behind a number of online attacks against NATO and EU countries.

Together with US intelligence and other international partners, the BfV found that groups belonging to GRU Unit 29155 were "responsible for computer network operations against global targets for the purposes of espionage, sabotage, and reputational harm since at least 2020."

It cautioned that the unit, also known as Cadet Blizzard or Ember Bear, was behind the WhisperGate malware attacks against Ukrainian targets in January 2022, a month before Russia invaded the country.

Unit 29155 also "attacked networks in NATO member states in Europe and North America as well as countries in Latin America and Central Asia," the BfV said.

German intelligence accused Moscow of widespread sabotage operations against German politicians and companies. The same unit also hit Ukrainian targets in the run-up to Russia's invasion.