German Intelligence: Russian GRU Group Behind NATO, EU Cyberattacks

The warning comes at a time of heightened anxiety in Europe over suspected Russian hackers and spies. Reuters
The warning comes at a time of heightened anxiety in Europe over suspected Russian hackers and spies. Reuters
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German Intelligence: Russian GRU Group Behind NATO, EU Cyberattacks

The warning comes at a time of heightened anxiety in Europe over suspected Russian hackers and spies. Reuters
The warning comes at a time of heightened anxiety in Europe over suspected Russian hackers and spies. Reuters

Germany's domestic intelligence agency has warned against a cyber group belonging to Russian military intelligence (GRU) Unit 29155, saying it has carried out cyberattacks against NATO and EU countries.
In a post on social media platform X on Monday, the Bundesverfassungsschutz said it was issuing the warning against the group known as UNC2589 alongside the FBI, US cybersecurity agency CISA, the NSA and further international partners.
According to Reuters, the warning comes at a time of heightened anxiety in Europe over suspected Russian hackers and spies since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Earlier this year, Berlin accused Russia of a slew of cyberattacks on Germany's governing Social Democrats as well as companies in the logistics, defense, aerospace and IT sectors.
In its warning, the intelligence agency said the group, also known as Cadet Blizzard or Ember Bear, conducts activities for the purpose of espionage and sabotage that often involve defacing websites and publishing stolen data.
The GRU unit to which it belongs is known for its suspected involvement in the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Britain in 2018, according to the agency.



Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
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Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday accused Panama of charging excessive rates for use of the Panama Canal and said that if Panama did not manage the canal in an acceptable fashion, he would demand the US ally hand it over.

In an evening post on Truth Social, Trump also warned he would not let the canal fall into the "wrong hands," and he seemed to warn of potential Chinese influence on the passage, writing the canal should not be managed by China.

The post was an exceedingly rare example of a US leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory. It also underlines an expected shift in US diplomacy under Trump, who has not historically shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with counterparts.

The United States largely built the canal and administrated territory surrounding the passage for decades. But the US government fully handed control of the canal to Panama in 1999 after a period of joint administration.

"The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US," Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.

"It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question."

The Panamanian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.