Arne Schönbohm, the head of the BSI, the German cyber-firefighter, has just been sacked from his post by the Ministry of the Interior, his administrative supervision. The former German cybersecurity chief also now faces disciplinary proceedings initiated at his request to “clarify the facts”.
Suspicions of Russian influence
Unveiled by the magazine Der Spiegel, this departure was expected. Arne Schönbohm, a former executive of the Franco-German aeronautics giant EADS (now Airbus) had indeed been in the hot seat for more than a week. A satirical program had joked about his skills, comparing him to a “cyber-clown”. But the media had above all wondered about a possible Russian influence on the cybersecurity consulting association co-founded in 2012 by Arne Schönbohm, the Cyber-Sicherheitsrat Deutschland eV A proximity that has become burning since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the rise military tensions in Europe.
The German media were thus surprised to find among the members Protelion GmbH, a subsidiary company of a Russian cybersecurity company founded by a former member of the KGB, one of the Soviet intelligence services. In a press release, the Cyber-Sicherheitsrat Deutschland eV denied being under the influence of the Russian intelligence services.
Association response
After calling the accusation “absurd”, the structure claimed that Protelion GmbH had not taken part in discussions or projects. In a second press release, two days later, the association had finally referred the fault to two federal ministries, accused of not having notified the association in time when they were aware of the nature of the shareholder of Protelion GmbH .
However, as Der Spiegel reminds us, the controversy goes beyond this enterprise. The links of the president of the Cyber-Sicherheitsrat Deutschland eV with the Russian Federation are also pointed out.
A brutal dismissal for the boss of Anssi
The German BSI is the main European partner of Anssi, the French cybersecurity policeman. A duo with increased importance since the departure of Great Britain from the European Union. Cooperation between the two structures is thus frequently highlighted by Guillaume Poupard.
“A thought for my counterpart and friend Arne Schönbohm, brutally dismissed, was also moved by the head of French cybersecurity on the social network Linkedin. In these difficult times, the greatest caution but also European cohesion and solidarity are more essential than ever.”
Conversely, a French cybersecurity specialist wondered about a “potential betrayal” and “a mixture of genders in the public service”, synonymous with due diligence problems, these checks carried out upstream of an operation, and surveillance.
The dismissal of Arne Schönbohm comes as Germany worries about the security of these critical infrastructures after the acts of sabotage committed in the Baltic Sea. The Ministry of the Interior has thus announced a plan to strengthen rail and maritime infrastructure. “We must invest 20 billion euros in cybersecurity in the next ten years,” also estimated Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser.