German
Counterintelligence: There are Spies Active in Germany
by
Christopher Burgess on August 31,
2018
German counterintelligence officials
highlight the activities of Russia, China and Iran in the annual report
prepared by the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), the domestic
intelligence service of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The report highlights counterintelligence
efforts vis-à-vis nation-state espionage and influence operations within
Germany.
The 359-page
German language report (and the 47-page
English synopsis) dissect the modes operandi of Russia, China and Iran and
identifies the espionage and influence operations of several other countries:
Turkey, Syria, India, Switzerland and Vietnam.
More
from Christopher BurgessCyberattacks
The BfV calls out the hazard faced by the
nation’s critical infrastructure to cyberattacks. To counter this threat, the
BfV in conjunction with the National Cyber Defense Center (Cyber-AZ) has
increased the level of domestic and international cooperation focused on
increasing cyber defenses and thwarting attacks.
Both China and Russia have been detected
as conducting cyberattacks against German interests and, more recently, Iran.
These nation-states “clearly show
the attempt to strategically spy on politics and federal administration.”
Additionally, documented attempts to
compromise managed service providers in Europe, to access the provider’s
customer data has been attributable to both Russia and China.
Iran has attempted to compromise
official German presence in Iran including its personnel.Russia
The BfV minces no words: the Russians are
very active within Germany, with the focus on all areas of “politics,
economics, science and technology, and the military.” In addition, special
emphasis has been detected by the BfV on the political attitudes of the federal
government toward the Russian Federation.
To that end, not surprisingly, the BfV
highlights the Russian disinformation campaigns and attempts to influence
domestic election outcomes and are viewed as an attempt to destabilize the
federal government and “weaken its position” with respect to EU sanctions
against Russia.
HUMINT (human intelligence) operations
continue to target German citizens and officials both inside Germany and during
visits to Russia for the purposes of developing the individual as a clandestine
source of the Russian intelligence services. The prognostication by the BfV is
this activity will not diminish in the years to come.China
The BfV notes that the activities of
China’s intelligence services is focusing toward “political espionage,”
targeting entities such as the EU and G20 Summit. In addition, high-tech
espionage continues, as does the attempts to purchase German companies with the
goal of closing the technological gaps.
The report specifically calls out: “China
acquires sensitive data through the acquisition of security-related companies
and thus gained knowledge detrimental to German security interests.”
The Chinese modus operandi includes:Open
source collection from referral interviews by legal residents in Germany and
through journalists.Social network exploitation and social engineering,
specifically LinkedIn for large-scale operations, with he technique having
little variance from case to case: “Supposed scientists, job brokers and
headhunters make contacts with people who have a meaningful personal profile.
They are lured with tempting offers and finally invited to China; there they
are engaged by the Chinese intelligence apparatus.”Chinese think tanks are used
for targeting young students, diplomats and business persons. “The think tanks
gather sensitive information, not least to prepare cyberattacks, but also to
select suitable targets and disguise intelligence activities.”Iran
Iran’s Ministry of State Security (MOIS)
has been primarily focused on Iranian exiles, while the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force has been actively engaged in spying on pro-Jewish
or Israeli entities.
In March 2017, a Pakistani national was
sentenced to prison for intelligence activities on behalf of Iran, for
preparing targeting packages on a number of targets for the Quds Force.Turkey
The BfV details in great detail the
efforts of the Turkish security services within Germany, which are focused
primarily on learning about the Turkish political opposition and conducting
influence operations. The services placed an officer, under journalist cover,
within the Kurdish community. The individual was identified by the BfV,
arrested and tried, and is serving two years in prison. Interestingly, the
individual never confessed, but his mobile phone’s content provided sufficient
evidence to convict within the German courts.Switzerland
A Swiss
citizen, Daniel Moser, was arrested and tried for being an agent operating on
behalf of the Swiss intelligence service sent to Germany to obtain
information on three German tax investigators who were investigating German tax
evaders.Syria
Even though the state of Syria is in utter
disarray, the Syrian intelligence services continue to operate abroad, and
within Germany specifically. The BfV reports that as the number of Syrian
refugees increases, so does the number of “new structures and agent networks
within Germany” controlled by the Syrian intelligence apparatus. In 2017, a
number of Syrian diplomats were expelled for conducting espionage operations
within Germany.India
According to the BfV the Indian intelligence
services, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s foreign intelligence agency
and the Intelligence Bureau (IB), India’s domestic service, have accredited
officers at their mission in Berlin and several undeclared employees. India’s
activities are centered on monitoring and infiltrating the Sikh community in
Germany. In 2017, arrests of Indian intelligence officers and their
confidential informants were made by the German government.Vietnam
Vietnam’s intelligence organizations kidnapped a high-ranking politician (Trinh
Xuan Than) off the streets of Berlin July 23, 2017. The unnamed individual
had been accused of corruption in Vietnam and had escaped to Germany where he
had requested political asylum. Two Vietnamese Embassy officials were expelled
from Germany and a local accomplice (Long N.H.) was arrested, admitted his part
in the kidnapping is serving four years in prison.
Than resurfaced in Hanoi a few days later.
Vietnam claims he voluntarily returned to his homeland and turned himself in to
authorities, which differs from the account in Germany, which has Than being
kidnapped at gunpoint. Than was subsequently convicted of corruption for the
losses and failures of the PetroVietnam Construction JSC and is serving a life
sentence in Vietnam.Is Germany’s
Experience Unique?
The experiences of the BfV are no doubt
being played out within the counterintelligence efforts of the United States
and its allies.
The BfV report will serve those government
entities and private sector security personnel with evidence that they are
actively being targeted by nation-state entities focused on western technology
and political activities.china, counterintelligence, Germany, india, Iran, Russia, Switzerland,
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