German Cybersecurity Chief Suspended Over Alleged Russia Ties

Kamil Kowalcze and Michael Nienaber
·1 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s interior minister suspended the head of the country’s cybersecurity agency after a television report uncovered an alleged link with Russian intelligence.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday that the decision to strip Arne Schoenbohm of his powers as president of the Federal Cybersecurity Authority was taken because the allegations in the report “have permanently damaged the public’s necessary trust in the neutrality and impartiality of the conduct of his duties.”

“This applies all the more in the current crisis situation with regard to Russian hybrid warfare,” the spokeswoman said by email, adding that an investigation was ongoing and Schoenbohm would be presumed innocent of any wrongdoing until it’s concluded.

Schoenbohm took over Germany’s BSI cybersecurity agency in February 2016 having previously worked at European defense company EADS and at DaimlerChrysler Aerospace.

A report by public broadcaster ZDF last week said that he was a co-founder of an association called Cybersecurity Council Germany. The group, which gathered government officials and experts from the private sector, had links with a former official of Russia’s KGB intelligence service, ZDF said.

The interior ministry did not say how long its investigation might take or whether it was seeking a replacement for Schoenbohm.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.