‘Malware attack Bundestag hack targeted more international organizations’

The extensive malware infection that the network of the German parliament had to contend with last summer originated in an email that appeared to come from the United Nations. Other international organizations also received this email.

The email that caused the infection had the subject “Ukraine conflict with Russia leaves economy in ruins” and appeared to come from an address with un.org as the domain name. The email contained a link to a ‘UN News Bulletin’, but in reality it referred to a page of malware. The mail is still in the mailboxes of parliament computers, despite a major clean-up, writes the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The page where the malware is or was located has been blocked.

The newspaper also reports that several international organizations received the e-mail, although it is not known which one or whether this has led to infections. A German intelligence official told a commission of inquiry in Germany the new details last week. The Bundestag’s network was paralyzed by a major attack over the summer and administrators were unable to control the contagion. Even after months of investigation, much is still unclear about the attack.