US cybersecurity firm Mandiant, a subsidiary of Google's owner Alphabet, claims that Russian hackers tried to trick German politicians into opening a link to a fictitious dinner party.
The goal of the hackers was to steal data, according to the German newspaper Der Spiegel, cited by DW.
Mandiant reported that the APT29 hacker group, also known as Cozy Bear, tried to trick "key German political figures" into opening an email containing a fake invitation to a dinner organised by the opposition conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Mandiant analysts said that the group used a new type of malware known as Wineloader to carry out the attacks.
APT29 has already carried out several attacks on Western authorities. In January, it managed to hack into the email accounts of top Microsoft employees.
International intelligence agencies believe that the group is working on the orders of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (FSI).
Germany's Federal Office for Information Security warned that cyber spies were trying to create long-term access to data from German political parties.
The CDU party said that it was not the first time it had been the target of digital attacks.
"In this case, we received very prompt information about the attack," the party said in a statement.
Foreign states are particularly interested in obtaining information from politicians in the context of the upcoming European Parliament elections to be held in early June, cyber experts warn.
Mandiant analyst Dan Black said that Moscow is working to undermine European support for Ukraine.
"This latest attack is not just about harassing Germany or its politicians; it is part of a broader effort by Russia to find ways to undermine European support for Ukraine," Black said in a statement.
Background. As reported, the SBU exposed LockBit hackers – they attacked international financial institutions providing assistance to Ukraine.