After the Russian publication of a recording of discussions between German Air Force officers, security politicians have called for consequences. “We urgently need to increase our security and counterintelligence because we are obviously vulnerable in this area,” said the chairwoman of the Bundestag’s defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, to the editorial network Germany. The deputy Union parliamentary group leader Johann Wadephul called on the federal government to tighten the regulations for the protection of communications.
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The Green Party politician Konstantin von Notz told the RND: “The question arises as to whether this is a one-off event or a structural security problem. He expects “immediate clarification of all background information,” demanded the chairman of the Parliamentary Control Committee. The boss The Russian state broadcaster RT, Margarita Simonjan, published an audio recording of a 38-minute intercepted conversation on Friday. The Ministry of Defense has confirmed the interception incident to the ARD capital studio, but is currently checking whether the recording is authentic.
In it, senior Air Force officers can be heard discussing the theoretical possibilities of using German Taurus cruise missiles by Ukraine. According to earlier information from the German Press Agency, the conversation is authentic. According to the agency, the officers connected via the WebEx platform.
Technical discussion among officers via WebEx
According to information available online from heise, but unconfirmed by the Bundeswehr, Cisco's WebEx is frequently used by the troops. However, according to people familiar with the implementation of WebEx in security areas, it is known that the system does not offer end-to-end encryption, at least when dialing in by telephone or via a browser. In addition to the fundamental security problem that participants connected to conferences via traditional telephone calls cannot establish encrypted connections, end-to-end encryption in Cisco's WebEx must be set up and activated by IT managers for the client and server software. In addition, all users must then be assigned these options. It is still officially unclear which of the potential vulnerabilities were used by pro-Russian snoopers for eavesdropping. According to the recording, one of the officers took part from a hotel in Singapore, as ZDF also reports. It is not known how technically this happened.
Details about Taurus and explosive statements about allies
Air Force Inspector Ingo Gerhartz, among others, took part in the conversation. It is said to have served as preparation for a briefing for Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD). The exchange documented in the audio file addresses, among other things, the question of whether Taurus cruise missiles would be technically capable of destroying the bridge built by Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in violation of international law. Another point is whether Ukraine could carry out the shelling without the participation of the Bundeswehr.
However, it can also be heard in the recording that there is no green light at the political level for the delivery of the cruise missiles demanded by Kiev. What is explosive is that there is talk of the British having “a few people on site” in the context of the use of their Storm Shadow cruise missiles delivered to Ukraine. There had just been anger in Great Britain over a statement made by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which some interpreted as an indiscretion. “What the British and French are doing in terms of target control and the accompaniment of target control cannot be done in Germany,” said the SPD politician.
He left it open what exactly he meant by that. However, the sentence was understood by some as an indication that the French and British would support the control of their Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles, which were delivered to Ukraine, with their own forces. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak immediately denied this: “Ukraine's use of the Storm Shadow long-range missile system and the target selection process are the responsibility of the Ukrainian armed forces.”
Kiesewetter: Russia wants to stop Taurus deliveries with leak
The CDU defense expert Roderich Kiesewetter told “ZDF today” with regard to the publication: “One must assume that the conversation was leaked specifically by Russia at this point in time, with a specific intention. This can only be to create a Taurus To prevent delivery through Germany.” Russia wants to deter Scholz by “publicly showing how deeply Russia has already clarified the German preparations for the decision.” Strack-Zimmermann also sees the reason for the publication as Russia wanting to deter Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) from giving the green light for the delivery of Taurus.
She told the RND that espionage is “part of Russia’s hybrid warfare toolbox.” It is neither surprising nor surprising that conversations are being intercepted. “It was just a matter of time before it became public.” Kiesewetter expects that a number of other conversations were intercepted and may later be leaked for Russia's benefit. He also suspects: “This Bundeswehr leak may be a Russian attempt to steer the public debate away from the Wirecard revelations and the funeral of Alexei Navalny.”
Chancellor Scholz has repeatedly emphasized that he is against the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. This position is also controversial within his own traffic light coalition. Scholz justifies it with the danger that Germany could be drawn into the war of aggression started by Russia. The Union's defense policy spokesman, Florian Hahn, now demanded that the Chancellor explain himself to the Bundestag's Defense Committee. From his point of view, the Air Force conversation underlines that a use of Taurus by the Ukrainians would be possible even without Bundeswehr personnel on site. “I expect Chancellor Scholz to speak on this in the Defense Committee,” said Hahn.
Update
03.03.2024,
18:03
Clock
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius wants the leak to be “cleared up completely”. According to CDU politician Roderich Kiesewetter, Russia was directly dialed into the conference and listened. The latest developments up to Sunday evening can be found in a current report.
(NO)