According to Bild, a state-sponsored Russian hacker group is behind the campaign, which the German authorities have not officially confirmed yet.
A Russian state-backed hacker group known as Fancy Bear has carried out a large-scale cyberattack on critical infrastructure and the local banking system in Germany in recent days, Bild newspaper reported, citing intelligence sources.
The German Federal Cyber Security Authority (BSI) spokesman, commenting on the reports, stated that the agency was not aware of any such attack. However, Bild reported that the BSI confirmed the hacking attack on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources, saying that the attack may have been in retaliation for international sanctions against Russia and Belarus.
The German Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, industry lobby groups, and private lenders all said they were still investigating the information. BSI and the European Central Bank have not responded to requests for comment yet.
The name Fancy Bear has come to light in the wake of several phishing attacks worldwide: late last year, for example, Microsoft reported a large number of attacks targeting political organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and research centers in the US and Europe.
Russia has consistently denied state involvement in disinformation campaigns in the social space or hacking other countries' infrastructure.
The president of Russia spoke to journalists following his summit with the United States. There, he said that the two nations agreed to launch a discussion on cyber-security. He also said that both countries should reject conspiracy theories about cyber attacks.
