Overview

• The Akademisches Netzwerk Osteuropa (Akno) has successfully thwarted two cyberattacks and reported three break-ins at a partner organization, all suspected to be linked to Russian intelligence.
• German authorities, including the BSI and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, are analyzing a late-March cyberattack on the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Osteuropakunde (DGO).
• Russia has classified Akno as an 'undesirable foreign organization' and the DGO as an 'extremist organization,' prompting formal protests from Germany's Foreign Office.
• Akno has escalated security protocols for meetings and communications, straining resources and limiting public outreach while continuing support for displaced scientists from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.
• Berlin's role as a hub for exiled scholars and activists has made it a focal point for Russian espionage, with heightened risks since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.