The cybersecurity situation report of Germany in 2014

In December 2014, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) released its annual update on the cybersecurity situation during the year 2014. Whilst Wired and RiskyBusiness have taken note, it was underreported in the English speaking media. Thus, I thought I would sum up the most interesting aspects of the report.

The threat environment
Looking at the threat environment, BSI distinguished between APT actors and intelligence services. This is interesting to note, as oftentimes APT is used as shorthand for a state-led cyber exploitation. In the section on the threat emanating from intelligence services, the BSI highlights how the “analysis of the Snowden revelations expanded the technical knowledge and understanding of intelligence-led cyber attacks as well as attack methods” (p.22). It also led to an improved technical collection. From the Snowden leaks, the BSI took...