Spying: FDP politician makes cyber attack on his mail account public

The trip with the deputy team should be a sign of understanding. Shortly before the start of the Football World Cup in Russia, 15 members of the Bundestag flew to Moscow in June.

The opponents of the non-partisan amateur footballers from the German Bundestag were members of the Russian parliament, the Duma. "This is an extraordinary journey", declared at that time proud teammate and Bundestag Vice President Thomas Oppermann (SPD), "normally we only do home games here in Berlin."

Sporting it did not run smoothly for the representation of the German parliament: they lost against the hosts with 3: 5. It did not help in the end that Oppermann converted a penalty.

DPA

Oliver Luksic

Half a year later, this trip has an aftermath. At least for the FDP deputy and Saarland FDP chief Oliver Luksic, who had then brought out the penalty.

On 16 November, an employee of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and an employee of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) appeared in his office in Saarbrücken. The previously announced visit contained a surprise for the Liberal, as he confirmed to SPIEGEL: "They told me in the presence of an office worker" that there had been a cyber attack on his private email account - "an attack from Russia" ,

In fact, Luksic is one of the deputies whose e-mail accounts have been attacked by the hacker campaign "Snake", as Der Spiegel learned from security circles. Was Luksic's cell phone manipulated during the match of the Bundestag, as he suspects? Or was he simply the victim of a phishing attack - and clicked on an infected link?

Manipulations in the football cabin?

Luksic had his phone - his only one, as he emphasizes - like other German MPs included in the cabin in Moscow. "I could not play soccer with my cell phone," he says. How his email account was finally hacked, but is completely open.

But why was he, of all people, a victim of a Russian cyberattack? There is only speculation. "I had previously discussed with the FDP faction leadership whether it makes sense to make such a trip to Moscow.My critical attitude to Russia is well known," says the FDP politician.

So far, nothing is known except the fact that Luksic's email account was attacked. How, you do not know. Even official authorities have no knowledge about it. But the politician has a guess. "It is conceivable that someone has messed with my phone while it was in the locked cabin," he tells the SPIEGEL. Luksic had the device now checked by the IT security of the Bundestag - apparently without result.

Studio Kohlmeier

FC Bundestag, beginning of 2018

According to security sources, after the "snake" attack was detected, a so-called awareness-raising talk was held with the person concerned, who reported on his trip to Moscow and his careless handling of his mobile phone. So far it is unclear for the authorities, however, whether a spyware could be applied to the device by Luksic.

Warnings of travel to certain states

The Luksic case, however, shows how vulnerable the traffic of parliamentarians is. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution constantly reminds parliamentarians to replace their telephones with disposable devices before traveling to certain countries such as Russia or China.

In addition, the authority is warning parliamentarians that lockers in hotels can not guarantee the security of their information. Foreign intelligence agencies can also temporarily take possession of supposedly locked-away devices and deploy espionage software.

The captain of the Bundestag, the SPD MP Mahmut Özdemir, therefore replaced before the flight to Moscow his iPhone against a new Blackberry, which he had bought himself along with SIM card for the trip. "Some players smiled at me for that," says Özdemir, "but I wanted to make sure that they did not accuse me of anything, and as a captain I have some role model in that regard."

He explained the procedure to some teammates before the trip. "There was no service to colleagues, and every member of parliament is experienced enough to be able to assess the risks themselves," said Özdemir. Of course, such an exchange would be costly, it would cost, but unfortunately he was no alternative.

BND President Kahl taught Oppermann

CLEMENS BILAN / EPA-EFE / REX / SHUTTERSTOCK

Thomas Oppermann

The spy story may sound bizarre, but the authorities take it seriously. Last week, the secret services informed the parliamentary control committee of the Bundestag about the possible hacker attack on the members of the FDP. It was initially unclear whether he is the only spied politician of the football team.

The president of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Bruno Kahl, recommended even before the meeting of the control panel Bundestag Vice President Oppermann to have his cell phone checked by the authorities. Oppermann wants to do that soon. "Should it turn out that we have been deliberately hacked by the state, that would not only contradict my understanding of hospitality," he says. In this case, football diplomacy between the Bundestag and the Duma would have to be shelved.

Still, this question is not resolved. It is equally possible that the FDP politician Luksic surfed the net carelessly or opened suspicious emails. Actually, a return match is planned in Berlin, so Luksic. The Liberal after his hacking experience is a bit uncomfortable: "I can only hope that no fake news campaigns come."