Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) is on a high alert amid potential cyberattacks on political institutions ahead of 2017 parliamentary elections, Arne Schoenbohm, the BSI head, said Sunday.

Schoenbohm told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper that the BSI was “on a high alert” and offered consultations to Germany’s federal returning officer, who is responsible for elections, and also consulted federal states and parties.

“We register daily attacks on governmental networks… other political institutions are also targeted,” the BSI head added.

Earlier this week, following political row between Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey over Turkish rally bans, high-profile German and Dutch Twitter accounts, as well as some websites were attacked by unidentified hackers, who expressed their support for Turkish government. The group published pictures of swastika and hashtags, which read “NaziGermany” and #NaziHolland and videos with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s speeches.

German authorities also fear possible Russian cyberattacks aimed at interfering in German parliamentary elections that are due to take place on September 24, 2017. Russian officials have denied all allegations, saying Moscow does not interfere in other states’ domestic matters.

Source: Sputnik