BERLIN: Germany’s cyber security agency chief is facing the sack over alleged ties with Russian intelligence services, government sources said on Monday, amid heightened vigilance over potential sabotage activities by Moscow.

Arne Schoenbohm, head of the Federal Cyber Security Authority (BSI), was accused in a recent investigation by broadcaster ZDF of contacts with Russia through an association he co-founded in 2012.

The interior ministry said it was “taking the facts that have been reported seriously and investigating them comprehensively” and was “examining all options on how to deal with the situation”.

A newspaper reported there was “great annoyance” within the government over the allegations.

A planned joint appearance by Schoenbohm and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser to present a report on German cyber security has been cancelled as the ministry seeks to clarify the allegations.

The association at the centre of the allegations, known as the Cyber Security Council, advises businesses, government agencies and policymakers on cyber security issues.

According to a popular satire programme on ZDF channel, Schoenbohm still maintains contact with the organisation.

The latter denied the allegations, saying in a statement on its website on Monday that the charges were “absurd”.

Sebastian Fiedler, a politician with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), said the accusations “must be investigated very thoroughly” and had already caused “a great deal of damage to trust in the BSI”.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2022