Protesters show support for Ukraine after Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, denies sending Taurus missiles to help. Photo: NURPHOTO
Top secret German military meetings regarding the Taurus missiles were readily available on the Internet, which turned out to reflect a serious security lapse.
An investigation by the newspaper Die Zeit found that there were more than 6,000 details past and future meetings were available online. They indicated the topic of the meeting and the names of its participants.
While it is not believed that the hackers had access to actual recordings of past discussions, they may have attempted to access them using details available online. .
Security flaws were found in Webex video conferencing software, the information of which was hosted on internal Bundeswehr servers. According to a team from Netzbegruendung, a group of IT experts associated with the Green Party, the conference URLs included a simple series of sequential numbers that could be easily guessed by hackers.
Among the encounters that were at risk were those who were labeled as “sensitive.” They included discussions on Taurus cruise missiles, Meteor air-to-air missiles and the “digital battlefield.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is adamant in his refusal to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine, despite domestic and international pressure. Photo: LEONHARD SIMON/GETTY IMAGES EUROPE
The findings of the German newspaper, created with the help of Netzbegruenung, also detailed potential hackers. could access online meetings involving German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
Some meetings, including one involving top Luftwaffe general Ingo Gerharz, were available without password.
One of Gerhartz's letters was recently published in March on pro-Kremlin social networks. In it, Gerhartz was heard discussing the strike on the Kerch bridge between the occupied Crimean peninsula and mainland Russia.
Berlin called the leak an “attempt at hybrid disinformation.”
In the leaked meeting, Luftwaffe General Ingo Gerhartz was heard discussing the strike on the Kerch Bridge. Photo: MAJA HITIJ/GETTY IMAGES EUROPE
Responding to the Zeit report, Konstantin von Notz, chairman of the Bundestag's parliamentary oversight committee, said the Defense Ministry has “serious problems” with security.
“Once again it is clear that in the face of new daily newspapers, hybrid attacks, we need to actually implement the “Zeitenwende,” von Notz said.
Talking to the Telegraph last week, before the security shortcomings became public, von Notz warned that Germany faces “almost daily… destabilization attempts by authoritarian states against our country “
The Bundeswehr has acknowledged weaknesses in its digital security and said it has now tightened its online security.
“It was not possible to participate in video conferences without the participants' knowledge or permission,” said a Bundeswehr spokesman. An army spokesman said this. “Therefore, no sensitive content can leave the conference,” they said.
The Bundeswehr declined to comment on whether this was the same security issue that caused the information leak in March.
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