Many people are familiar with conflicts with their neighbors. However, in the last few weeks there has been a new neighborhood in Berlin that could be more stressful than arguments about disturbed peace and unfinished gardening.
At the beginning of July, a branch of the Federal Digital Ministry moved to Taubenstrasse 42/43 in Berlin-Mitte. Right next door: the “Russian House of Science and Culture”. The institution has long been suspected of being more than just a cultural institution. The French Interior Ministry, for example, assumes that Russian secret services are using the facility as a cover.
The direct proximity of a federal ministry to such a controversial institution poses risks, says cybersecurity expert Dennis-Kenji Kipker. Short distances opened up additional opportunities to extract information.
For example, neighbors could use laser microphones to reconstruct conversations in the ministry's field office. The lasers are aimed at window panes to measure how much sounds from inside make them vibrate, explains Kipker. The light pulses could then be converted back into audible sound. In addition, “the electromagnetic radiation from computers, keyboards, screens or network cables can be analyzed,” says the expert. This makes it possible to access information that is processed on the devices.
There is also a risk in using WLAN: via so-called rogue access points, attackers can set up a fake network that users can hardly distinguish from the real one. If a device connects to it, the data traffic can be read and, if necessary, manipulated. “With a directional antenna, it would theoretically also be conceivable to compromise Bluetooth connections,” says Kipker. However, the use of Bluetooth in security-sensitive areas is generally prohibited.
The aspect of social engineering should not be underestimated. Attackers there specifically exploit human psychology. This becomes much easier due to the spatial proximity. Attackers could, for example, observe who enters and leaves the ministry and when, and create patterns from this - including when Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (CDU) comes and goes. They could then approach employees in the area surrounding the branch office.
However, there are protective measures against most of these attack routes. “You can shield IT systems, train staff accordingly, install privacy screens in windows or mirror windows and set up tap-proof conference rooms,” explains Kipker. The Digital Ministry itself also announces that it is taking all precautions to exclude risks.
Nevertheless, the choice of the ministry branch is reigniting the debate about the Russian House. For example, FDP MEP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann criticizes the immediate neighborhood. “How you can be so stupid is a question that only this federal government can answer,” she writes on X. Green digital politician Jeanne Dillschneider says: “We should fight espionage and sabotage resolutely instead of opening the door.”
Since 2022, after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there have been repeated calls to close the Russian House. Most recently, for example, the CDU foreign politician Roderich Kiesewetter demanded on WELT TV that the federal government close the house: “This house is a symbol of our weakness and Russian influence.”
