14 DAY TRIAL // Denmark's Defense Minister accused Russian hackers of infiltrating email accounts of the ministry he leads, denouncing Moscow's aggressive behavior.
"This is part of a continuing war from the Russian side in this field, where we are seeing a very aggressive Russia," said Claus Hjort Frederiksen, Defense Minister, quoted by Danish news agency Ritzau.
The Center for Cyber Security published a report on Sunday, accusing a famous group of pro-Kremlin hackers of breaking into emails belonging to employees of the Defense Ministry in 2015 and 2016. The group in question is APT28, or, better known to most people, Fancy Bear.
Long list of crimes
This is the same group that was linked to the hacking of the Democratic National Committee servers and the subsequent leak of emails during the presidential campaign of 2016, which ultimately led to the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, something that many reports indicate was desired by Russia.
Furthermore, APT28 is also known to have links to the Russian government, as well as security services. The FBI and Homeland Security have said on numerous occasions that the group was behind malicious cyber activity against US government bodies, indicating that there may be more than we already know.
"The hacked emails don't contain military secrets, but it is, of course, serious," Frederiksen added in regards to the hack affecting the ministry he leads.
He also told local Berlingske newspaper that this was a very controlled operation. "It's not small hacker groups doing it for the fun of it. It's connected to intelligence agencies or central elements in the Russian government, and holding them off is a constant struggle."
The report further says that, while hackers may not have accessed classified information, the attacks can still damage Denmark's security as the information can be used to recruit, blackmail or plan further espionage.