[finnbow]

January 9, 2017 —In May 2015, hackers infected some 20,000 computers in Germany’s parliament with malicious software designed to steal sensitive data. The vast and damaging cyberattack was the most expansive in the government’s history.

The culprits? Experts and officials blamed the hacking group "APT 28," the same outfit that the US government says hacked the Democratic National Convention in July 2015 and helped Russia execute an extensive influence operation to discredit Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Now, a growing number of German politicians are deeply concerned that Russia will interfere in their own elections this coming fall, seeking to discredit pro-European Chancellor Angela Merkel as she runs for a fourth term, and strengthen support for the burgeoning populist party Alternative for Germany (AFD). In response, Berlin is considering new ways of blunting any attempt from Moscow to influence its political process through cyberattacks and misinformation.

In December, the German Interior Ministry proposed creating a Center of Defense Against Misinformation, to help hunt down and eradicate fake news or other false information from the internet. The ministry has already told political parties to disable bots, technology that automatically shares news, tweets, and Facebook posts, saying those can be easily tricked into distributing propaganda.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Passc...ight-fake-news