Germany sacks head of cybersecurity department

The German Interior Ministry has dismissed the head of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Arne Schönbom, Der Spiegel reports, citing its sources.

“Der Spiegel received information from law enforcement agencies that the German Interior Ministry removed Arne Schönbom from his post as head of the BSI and initiates an internal audit against him,” the magazine notes.

Earlier in October, it was reported that the German authorities were investigating Schönbom's possible connections with Russian intelligence. So, according to German media reports, a cybersecurity organization founded about ten years, among the founders of which Schönbom appeared, consists of a company allegedly created by a former Russian intelligence agent.

BSI, based in Bonn, is responsible for the security of computers and communications of the German government.