Germany fires cybersecurity chief after reports of possible Russia ties

Germany’s interior ministry fired its cybersecurity chief on Tuesday (18 October). It launched an investigation into his conduct following media claims that he could have been in contact with Russian security circles via a consultancy that he co-founded.

Arne Schoenbohm was under fire in recent weeks following a satirical TV program that highlighted his connections with a cybersecurity consulting firm which counts as a member of a German subsidiary founded by a former KGB agent.

Schoenbohm was co-founder of the Cyber Security Council Germany, which advises companies and authorities on cybersecurity issues in 2012. In 2016, Schoenbohm was appointed to head BSI, the federal security agency by Thomas de Maiziere (a conservative).

According to a spokesperson for the interior ministry now headed by the Social Democrats Schoenbohm was fired because of the allegations that had "permanently damaged public confidence in the impartiality and neutrality of his conduct as president of Germany’s most important cybersecurity authority".

Schoenbohm stated that he had asked the ministry Monday to open an investigation.

He said: "It's not clear to me yet what the ministry has checked and what the concrete allegations against me are."

After receiving permission from the interior ministry, he said that he had decided to step down from the council.

Konstantin von Notz (Greens lawmaker) heads the parliamentary panel that oversees Germany's intelligence services. He called for the ministry to make explicit statements about Schoenbohm's allegations and answer any other questions such as who it would nominate in his place.

He stated to Handelsblatt newspaper that "we need clarity over the tricky issue of whether or not Russian spy activity was around the BSI. We cannot allow this body's integrity to be further compromised."

Jan Boehmermann, comedian, reported in his late-night TV program ten days ago, that the council now includes Berlin-based Protelion GmbH as a member. This was previously known as Infotecs and was a subsidiary of a Russian firm founded by an ex KGB agent.

Last week, the consultancy protested that it didn't know about the alleged Russian connections to Protelion GmbH. It was expelled from the program after it aired.

"We support the efforts by government agencies to clarify Protelion GmbH's role in order to be capable of assessing the extent to which actually an attempt was made to exert influence," stated its chief Hans-Wilhelm Duenn. He dismissed accusations that he had been influenced or influenced by Russian agencies, calling them "absurd."

According to the consultancy, the interior ministry was aware of the allegations at least since spring, but no information was given by officials to associations or potential clients.

Protelion GmbH's head was not available immediately for comment.

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