May 5, 2024 – 08:32
The German military admitted that data on more than 6,000 of them, including many of their top-secret online conferences, was available to anyone online due to a bug in the software used for video chats, the German military wrote. German wave English edition.
Zeit newspaper revealed that by entering some search terms into the WebEx system used by the army, it became possible to access topics and participants in army discussions online. The newspaper also claims that they were able to enter some online meeting rooms.
The army did not learn of the mistake until Zeit contacted them with information. Later, the German Army announced that the error in its online system had been corrected within 24 hours of its discovery.
The army spokesman said that classified information could not be leaked in this way, because no one can join online video discussions without permission.
The issue revealed by the Zeit newspaper is also sensitive for the German military, because in March Russian state media published a leaked recording of four German air force commanders discussing possible military operations in an online meeting. What is interesting about the case is that, in the 40-minute recording, German officers talk about how they blew up the Kerch Bridge leading to Crimea with German devices, which the Ukrainians had already tried once, making the crossing unusable for a long time. . There is also discussion in the audio recording about whether the attack on the bridge could have been carried out using German Taurus missiles with stealth technology and a range of up to 500 kilometres. The German government already confirmed the authenticity of the recording in March and described the incident as a hybrid disinformation attack by Russia.
They also had access to the electronic room of Lieutenant-General Ingo Gerhartz, head of the German Air Force, in the leaked recording, Zeit wrote.
