Germany to remove its cybersecurity chief over KGB connections, Reuters reports

Ms Nancy Faeser, Germany’s Minister of the Interior, is looking to remove Arne Schoenbohm, the president of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). As Reuters reports, the nation’s cybersecurity chief may have had contacts with individuals involved with Russian security services. German media covered his possible dismissal late on Sunday, citing government sources.

Schoenbohm is suspected of having had such interactions during his tenure as the Chair of the Cyber Security Council of Germany, according to multiple outlets.

Furthermore, Schoenbohm is reported to have founded an association that granted membership to the German subsidiary of a Russian cybersecurity firm founded by a former KGB officer.

Schoenbohm is yet to reply to inquiries submitted to him via social media.

Neither the Ministry of the Interior nor the BSI has provided any comment so far.

«These accusations must be decisively investigated,» said Konstantin von Notz, the chairman of the parliamentary oversight committee for federal intelligence services.