INTERNAL SECURITY
German watchdog warns of Russian cyberattacks before poll
Berlin — The German domestic security watchdog warned on Tuesday that the country’s political system was likely to face cyberattacks from Russia in the run-up to September’s election. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution said in its annual report that after suspected manipulation of the US and French elections by Moscow, it was to be expected that Germany would be next. The report said that German politicians and parties targeted by Russia to spy "on confidential e-mails or other sensitive data must assume that explosive or compromising facts could be made public". Presenting the findings, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Berlin was girding for a two-pronged attack of embarrassing leaks and fake news orchestrated by Moscow. "We saw a probable influence on the election in America [in late 2016], we saw a probable influence on the election in France," he told reporters. "There is every reason to believe that that came from Russia and thus it cannot be ruled out t...
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