DW reports:
The German government confirmed on Wednesday that it had suffered a large cyberattack that infiltrated federal computer networks.
Citing anonymous sources, German news agency dpa had earlier reported that the Russian hacking group APT28 had placed malware in a government network and infiltrated the Foreign and Defense Ministries.
The sources said the malware could have remained in the government’s networks for as long as a year before the government discovered the breach in December.
Read more on DW.
Update 8:46 am: Reuters provides additional coverage:
German security officials allowed hackers “controlled” access to government networks in order to track possible culprits and their methods, a top interior ministry official said Thursday, as outraged lawmakers complained about being kept in the dark.
Deputy Interior Minister Ole Schroeder told the RND newspaper group security officials were able to “isolate and bring under control” the attack, while tracking the hackers to learn more about how the attack was executed.
Read more on Trust.org.