© AFP
The fact that the Russians were able to listen in on a video conference among German soldiers is probably due to a general who dialed into a non-secure line. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said this on Tuesday.
Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 11:04 PM
Late last week, Margarita Simonjan, the head of Russian state broadcaster RT, published an audio clip in which German soldiers can be heard discussing support for Ukraine and whether Taurus missiles would be able to destroy the Crimean bridge.
It concerns a 38-minute fragment of a video conference (via the WebEx platform) that dates back to February 19. “The conversation was not intercepted by an individual Russian spy,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in Berlin on Tuesday. “But it was most likely overheard because a general ignored security protocol.”
The general in question would have been present at that time in Singapore, where an air show was being organized at that time. “He called in from his hotel room,” Pistorius said. “And his mobile phone or an insecure connection in the hotel caused the vulnerability.”
Pistorius also stated that disciplinary action was being investigated after the general breached strict security guidelines by using an unsafe and unauthorized connection. “We are also taking technical and organizational steps to ensure that similar incidents cannot be repeated.”