According to the Federal Defense Minister, the wiretapping affair was made possible by a data leak in Singapore. A participant dialed in via an open connection.
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Taurus wiretapping affair
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Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) presented the first interim results in the investigation of the Taurus wiretapping affair. “A Russian spy did not dial into the WebEx conference,” Pistorius said at a press conference. He could expressly rule that out.
More on the topic: Taurus wiretapping affair
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The reason that the phone call could be recorded was due to an “individual application error”. Not all participants adhered to the secure dial-in procedure. The “data outflow” occurred because the conference participant in Singapore was dialed in via a connection that was not closed.
The Defense Ministry’s communications systems were not compromised, Pistorius said. You use WebEx for certain conversations up to a certain security level, but not the publicly accessible version, but one with additional security levels. No servers abroad are used, but servers from the Bundeswehr.
Personal consequences have not yet been determined
The Singapore Airshow, also with the participation of high-ranking military officials from European countries, was a “good thing” for Russian secret services, Pistorius said. There were “widespread wiretapping operations” by Russia around the event. Access to the German WebEx conference was probably a “random hit” as part of a widespread approach. Pistorius accused Russia of wanting to drive a wedge between European countries. “We will not let this attack from Russia drive us apart,” he said. After talks with allies, Pistorius does not see any damage to trust in NATO partner Germany. Pistorius said he didn’t notice any irritation.
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IT experts would now also forensically examine the devices involved, said Pistorius. There will also be preliminary disciplinary investigations against those involved in the switching conference. After their conclusion, a decision will be made about whether disciplinary proceedings will be carried out. “We’re not there yet,” said Pistorius. If the investigation does not turn out “worse,” he will not sacrifice “one of my best officers to Putin’s games,” said Pistorius, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Friday, Russia published a recorded conference call of four senior officers, including Air Force Chief Ingo Gerhartz. In it, they discussed operational scenarios for the German Taurus cruise missile if it were to be delivered to Ukraine. However, it is also clear from the recording that they are not expecting a commitment from the political level.
The Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag has requested a special meeting of the Defense Committee for this week because of the wiretapping affair.