It appears it’s not just the US voting system that has been allegedly penetrated by Vladimir Putin (at least if Trump is winning). German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that Russia could try to influence Germany’s general elections next year through cyber attacks or disinformation campaigns, following similar accusations by Washington, which also accused the Kremlin of meddling in the US vote.
Germans are scheduled to go to the polls in September 2017. Merkel has yet to announce her candidacy but is widely expected to run for a fourth term.
Merkel warns of possible Russian interference in German vote
It is unclear if Merkel’s warning suggests that confidential German emails have also been hacked and are about to be released.
“We are already, even now, having to deal with information out of Russia or with internet attacks that are of Russian origin or with news which sows false information,” Merkel, said at a press conference alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Dealing with that was already “a daily task”, she told reporters in Berlin.
“So it may be that this could also play a role during the election campaign.” That, or perhaps what Merkel is more concerned about is her collapse in the polls as a result of her hugely unpopular “open door” policy which has allowed approximately 1 million middle-eastern refugees to enter the country, much to the displeasure of her countrymen.
The comments, first reported by AFP, came in response to a question about whether Germany could experience the type of cyber attacks that have plagued the White House race, notably targeting Hillary Clinton’s Democratic party.
Germany’s domestic secret service earlier this year accused Russia of a series of international cyber spying and sabotage attacks, including a case which targeted the German lower house of parliament last year.
Washington last month formally accused the Russian government of trying
to “interfere” in the election by hacking US political institutions,
charges the Kremlin has repeatedly dismissed. US intelligence services have yet to present any evidence of Russian involvement.
via http://ift.tt/2fl5dj1 Tyler Durden