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Merkel: 'Hard Evidence' of Russian Cyber Attack on German Parliament

Kenneth Schwartz

   German ChancellorAngelaMerkel says she has "hard evidence"that Russia
   hacked the website of Germany's parliament in2015 and allegedly stole
   documentsfrom herown parliamentaryoffice.

   German news reports saidprosecutors had issued an arrest warrant for a
   suspected member of the RussianmilitaryintelligenceagencyGRU.

   "I can say honestly that this pains me," Merkel said during a
   question-and-answer session withlawmakersWednesday. "On the one hand, I
   work every day for a better relationship with Russia, and when you see
   on the other hand that there is such hard evidence that Russian forces
   are involved in acting this way, this is an area of tension."

   Merkelsaidshe was "very glad"investigatorshad identified someone
   shecalled a "concrete" suspect.

   When asked about what the Russians werelookingfor, Merkel said she got
   "the impression that they picked up relatively indiscriminately what
   they could get."

   It wasunclear whatRussian was allegedly trying to find.
   Germanauthoritieswould categorize it only as intelligencedataon
   Germanorganizationsandinstitutions.

   Merkel said that the charges didn't makeeffortsto keep good relations
   with Russia easier and that Germany had the right to take
   measuresagainstRussia or anyone whocarried out suchspying.

   Russia hasconsistentlydenied conducting cyberattackson Germany, the
   United States or any other Western nation.

   A Russian Foreign Ministryspokeswomanhas saidtheonlytime Russia broke
   intothe German parliament was in 1945.

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