Huge data breach in the German military – we know it

Metadata and contact links for the Army’s digital meetings have been publicly available for months — some under generic usernames like “test,” research shows.

Julian Seyferth/T Online

There was a vulnerability in the German army’s Webex model, which has now been closed, according to the CIR cyber force.

When asked on Saturday, a spokesman for the Cyber ​​and Information Space Force confirmed that a “security vulnerability” existed during the week, but that it was eliminated within 24 hours. But according to Zeit’s research, the problem persisted for months.

Metadata such as times and participants can be viewed via the Webex communications platform. However, the German military explains that it was not possible to contact or access any classified content.

More than 6000 meetings can be found

Zeit Online previously reported on the security vulnerability. According to the portal, the German army has disconnected the Webex version from the Internet. The service can still be used for internal meetings. More than 6,000 meetings can be found online.

The newspaper wrote that the German army did not know about the problem until after an inquiry from the Zeit newspaper. Titles, schedules and participants were available. According to the German military, these meetings were not accessible, but in some cases the title of the meeting actually revealed its subject.

Example: “Review and finalize Taurus’ plan.” Air Force Commander Ingo Gerhartz’s conference room was also open to the public – with completely public access names such as “Test”.

At the beginning of March,… Russia A recorded conference call via Webex between four high-ranking officers, including Air Force Commander Ingo Gerharz, caused a stir. In it, they discussed operational scenarios for Taurus missiles if their delivery continues Ukraine Should be delivered. The Ministry of Defense later blamed the leak on the negligence of a German army general in Singapore.

sources

(T-Online/DSC)