The German Bundestag experienced significant disruptions to its email and internet services during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit, raising serious questions about cybersecurity vulnerabilities within the parliamentary body. Reports indicate that multiple factions and individual members of parliament were affected by the outage, which began around 2:30 PM local time and persisted throughout the afternoon.
Confirming the incident, a spokesperson for the Bundestag administration stated that a widespread failure was underway. Accounts from MPs’ offices corroborate this, describing a complete interruption of internet connectivity, extending to the internal intranet system. Crucially, the power supply remained unaffected, suggesting the issue stemmed from a network or server malfunction rather than a broader electrical failure.
Further complicating the situation, the extensive disruption impacted both internal and external devices, including printing infrastructure. This points toward a potential compromise of the Bundestag’s core servers, indicating the failure was far more pervasive than a localized problem.
In the immediate aftermath of the outage, heightened security measures were implemented, with even those holding special access privileges being denied entry to the parliamentary complex.
The incident has fuelled speculation regarding a coordinated cyberattack targeting the Bundestag. While officials have yet to definitively attribute the disruption, the timing – coinciding with a high-profile visit from a key international ally – has amplified concerns about the robustness of Germany’s parliamentary cybersecurity defenses. Opposition lawmakers are already demanding a full and transparent investigation into the cause of the outage and a comprehensive review of security protocols to prevent recurrence. The incident underscores the increasing threat of cyber warfare and the need for critical infrastructure, including parliamentary institutions, to prioritize robust and resilient digital protection.