The European Union can impose sanctions against hacker groups. In 2020, it imposed a second round of cyber sanctions on Fancy Bear for its attacks on the German Bundestag in 2015.
In a statement, the European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, “strongly condemned Fancy Bear’s malicious cyber campaign” against Germany and the Czech Republic. “The EU is committed to using the full range of measures to prevent, deter and respond to Russia’s malicious behavior in cyberspace,” Borrell said.
NATO also issued a statement supporting Berlin and Prague, adding that the defense alliance’s allies were “committed to using the capabilities necessary to deter, defend and counter all cyber threats in order to support each other, including by considering coordinated responses.” “.
Fancy Bear has regularly carried out cyberattacks against European government targets for years. So far, EU sanctions and diplomatic wrangling have done little to deter them. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, European countries have suffered from an increase in cybersecurity, disinformation and so-called “hybrid” attacks such as sabotage, often linked to Russian government entities.
Last year, the European Parliament warned that Fancy Bear posed a “high” level of threat to EU institutions and agencies after it was found targeting at least seven European governments with hacking campaigns, in a memo from the EU Cyber Response Unit, reported by POLITICO. .
Jacopo Barigazzi contributed reporting.
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