Report by ‘ZDF Magazin Royale’: BSI boss set to leave

It was a hit. The “ZDF Magazin Royale” around Jan Böhmermann has investigated and discovered that the head of the Federal Office for Information Security, Arne Schönbohm, has contacts with the Russian secret services through an association which he co-founded.

However, the association is not linked to the Federal Government’s National Cyber ​​Security Council and was described in Böhmermann’s report as a “lobbying force”, which had attracted unpleasant attention in the past, it was said. already reported in 2019. The short form: The association “Cyber ​​​​Security Council Germany” counts, among others, the cybersecurity company Protelion among its members. According to research, until March it was called Infotecs GmbH. A subsidiary of Russian cybersecurity firm OAOInfotecs, which Policy Network Analytics research found was founded by a former employee of Russia’s KGB intelligence service. The problem now is that Protelion, according to its own statements, provides software for the critical infrastructure of many companies. Allegations of possible backdoors are now in the room.

It should now be tight for BSI boss Schönbohm. According to reports, Interior Minister Faeser will “recall” him. Suffice to say that the meeting this week, where he will present the annual management report of the BSI in the company of Nancy Faeser, should have burst. In any case, Jan Böhmermann called for the hashtag “cyber clown” to be used on social media for Germany’s top cybersecurity official.

All in all, an absolutely insane story that begs to be examined more closely in view of the current world situation. This is not a small summer crisis, as “Layla” could have been, it could pose a major threat to Germany. Schönbohm, on the other hand, seems to be (more than) a pawn sacrifice early on, structures and connections should be hard to see. But there really should be a working group. At least the digital committee of the Bundestag will have to deal with it.

(1) ZDF Magazin Royale of October 7, 2022
(2) tagesschau.de: BSI boss Schönbohm to be fired
(3) #cyberclown

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