The German BSI (Federal Office for Information Security) is supposed to take care of the critical digital infrastructure and monitor it to ensure security. However, as journalist Böhmermann shows in his current programme from ZDF Magazin Royale, there is a lot going wrong.
The starting point is the Protelion GmbH (slogan: Technology made in Germany), which promises secure connections via the internet with a solution called ViPNet, so that systems and companies cannot be hacked. An example of an attack on German infrastructure is the failure of the remote control of German wind turbines on the day Russia invaded Ukraine. According to current knowledge, Russia hacked a satellite in order to shut down the internet in Ukraine – in the process, the control of German wind turbines also failed.
However, the company Protelion is not trustworthy, because the Russian secret service is involved: The company Protelion was called infotecs until 2022. And this company was founded in 1991 by Andrey Chapchaev, who, according to Böhmermann, worked for a decade in the research department of the KGB. He was also the head of infotecs Germany for ten years. infotecs still cooperates with the Russian intelligence service FSB. For this reason, the FBI already has an eye on infotecs and its activities in the USA.
In Germany, the situation is different: When asked, the Federal Office for Information Security could not answer whether Protelion’s algorithms are used in Germany. Nor does it know whether software from the company is used in the German government. Only the BSI itself states that it does not use the software.
Protelion GmbH is still a member of Cyber Security Council Germany e.V. (Cyber-Sicherheitsrat Deutschland e.V.). This sounds quite official, but it is not. The state security council is called Cyber Security Council (without e.V.). Cleverly, a lobby association has been named exactly the same as the official body. Of course, this makes a statist impression on people who are not paying close attention.
The core problem now lies in the fact that Arne Schönbohm, head of the BSI, co-founded the Cyber Security Council Germany e.V., in which Protelion is also represented. In addition, the current chairman of the association, Hans-Wilhelm Dünn, maintains a wide range of contacts with Russian authorities. Arne Schönbohm is well aware of the image in an internal instruction from his authority and prohibits his employees from appearing with the representatives of the Cyber Security Council Germany e.V.. However, on September 9, 2022, he had himself photographed with the representatives of the association when he tenth anniversary congratulations.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is irritated by the connections and now (as of Monday) wants to transfer Arne Schönbohm.
We think it’s good that the consequences are now being drawn after seven years. It’s that long ago that Criticism of the integration of Arne Schönbohm and the association mentioned were expressed. The Federal Ministry of the Interior should have known about this for almost a decade. So why the Interior Minister is surprised is surprising. In the intervening years, the topic was repeatedly addressed, here for example in the newspaper Zeit 2019.
Updated 10/18/2022
The Ministry of the Interior released Arne Schönbohm. The BSI reports to the Ministry of the Interior. Disciplinary proceedings are also being initiated against the now former President of the Federal Office for Information Security.
