Germany’s chief of national cyber security was fired Tuesday over reports that he had been in contact with Russian intelligence, the country’s Interior Ministry confirmed.
Arne Schoenbohm, president of the BSI federal information security agency, came under scrutiny for suspected links with members of Russian security services, Reuters reported the week before he was sacked. The German government opened investigations after German media suggested the possibility of contact between Schoenbohm and the Kremlin via an organization he helped found. (RELATED: Germany Is Probing Two Top Officials To See If They’re Russian Agents)
“The background to this is not least the allegations, which are well known and widely discussed in the media, and which have permanently damaged the necessary public confidence in the neutrality and impartiality of the conduct of his office as president of Germany’s most important cybersecurity authority,” an Interior Ministry spokesperson said, according to German news outlet Deutsche Welle.
The allegations stem from Schoenbohm’s continued involvement with the Cyber Security Council of Germany, DW reported. The organization advises companies, politicians and other groups on cybersecurity, the outlet noted. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called for Schoenbohm’s dismissal after it was discovered that one of the council’s members organizations was founded by an ex-KGB employee, Reuters reported.
BERLIN, GERMANY – JULY 12: German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and State Secretary Dr. Markus Richter present Germany’s new cyber security plan on July 12, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. The new plan is to improve Germany’s ability to thwart cyberattacks and intrusions. Both the public and private sectors have increasingly been targets of such attacks in recent years. (Photo by Keuenhof – Pool/Getty Images)
Schoenbohm, who has headed BSI since February 2016, said he doesn’t know “what the ministry has examined and what the concrete allegations against me look like,” according to the AP. A replacement has not yet been named, AP reported.