Germany has full
confidence in the statement of the Netherlands and Britain on attempts
of cyber attacks on the OPCW, spokesman for the German Cabinet of
Ministers Steffen Seibert said at a briefing. "We, as the government of Germany, have full confidence in the estimates of the British and Dutch authorities, the government of Germany is also highly likely to be convinced that behind the company ART28 is the Russian military intelligence service of the GRU. This estimate is based on its own, very good factual base and sources," Seibert.
Earlier, the British Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that the British authorities "with a high degree of confidence" believe that the headquarters of the Russian General Staff (GRU) "almost exactly" organized a series of cyber attacks around the world, including in Britain, and intend to allies answer.
On 4 October, the Dutch Defense Ministry announced that the country's security services had prevented a hacker attack on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which four citizens of the Russian Federation allegedly tried to carry out. According to the head of department, Ank Beyleveld, the suspects with diplomatic passports were expelled from the Netherlands on April 13.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called the accusations "regular orchestrated propaganda" action and said that the unleashed "anti-Russian campaign of espionage" causes serious harm to bilateral relations. Also, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the statement of the Defense Ministry of the Netherlands was made before the OPCW session on October 9, on the threshold of which the "necessary" political background is created for illegal initiatives.
Later, the US and Canada made accusations against Russia, stating that seven “GRU employees” were involved in hacker attacks on the US electoral system, anti-doping laboratories, nuclear company Westinghouse, theft and publication of data, money laundering using cryptocurrency. At the same time, four of the Russians suspected by the American side are the very same people who were expelled by the Netherlands. Earlier, Washington refused to Moscow’s proposal to create a group on cyber security
