Germany Fires Cybersecurity Head Over Allegations Of ‘Russia Ties’

Germany is also contending with its own internal disruptions this week, with the news of the sacking of the country’s top cybersecurity official.

Arne Schoenbohm, head of the cyber protection agency for Germany, has been fired over allegations he had turned a blind eye to a firm with links to Russian security circles.

Schoenbohm was the head of Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), which earlier this year had warned users and organisations that anti-virus software from Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab posed a serious risk of a successful hacking attack – an allegation denied by the firm.

Cyber boss sacked

Arne Schoenbohm had led the Federal Cyber Security Authority (BSI), which ischarged with protecting German government communications, ever since February 2016.

According to the Guardian newspaper, Schoenbohm was apparently released from his duties with immediate effect on Tuesday. This is according to the news magazine Der Spiegel, citing unnamed security sources.

A spokesperson for the interior minister, Nancy Faeser, reportedly confirmed that Schönbohm would be barred from his office, as “necessary public trust in the neutrality and impartiality of his leadership as president of the most important German cybersecurity agency has been damaged”.

So what exactly triggered the firing of Schoenbohm?

The Guardian reported he had come under scrutiny after his links to a Russian company in a previous job were highlighted by Jan Böhmermann, a German comedian and host of a popular late-night satire show.

Before heading up the government’s cybersecurity agency, Schönbohm had helped found the Cyber Security Council Germany, a lobbying group.

But it seems that among its membership roster, the Cyber Security Council Germany has since 2020 listed a Berlin-based cybersecurity firm, Protelion, which was previously known as Infotecs. This is a subsidiary of a Russian company founded by an ex-KGB employee, who has received a medal of honour for his services from the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

“The Russian company Infotecs that wants to protect our critical infrastructure from Russian cyber-attacks works with Russian intelligence services,” Böhmermann said in his TV programme, expressing incredulity. “Russian agents use Infotecs, which under the name Protelion GmbH sells German companies security software.”

Presumption of innocence

It should be noted that at this stage nothing has actually been confirmed, and the television programme did not allege that Schönbohm had continued to keep close ties with Protelion after becoming the government’s security chief.

Officials from Germany’s interior ministry are still investigating the allegations, and there is a presumption of innocence for Schoenbohm while the investigation is ongoing.

But the revelation has raised questions about a key official’s judgement, amid concerns about the vulnerability of Germany’s critical infrastructure amid the Ukraine war.

After Böhmermann’s programme, the Cyber Security Council Germany expelled Protelion from its list of members but rejected allegations of undue Russian influence as “absurd”.

Nonetheless, several companies, including the software firm TeamViewer and energy company E.ON, cancelled their membership of the group.

According to the Guardian, it further emerged that even though Schönbohm had been urged to distance himself from the Cyber Security Council Germany he had co-founded, he had attended the lobbying association’s 10th anniversary party as recently as early September.