German elections face Russia cyber threat, Merkel warns

"We are already now having to deal with information out of Russia or with internet attacks that are of Russian origin or with news, which sows false information," Merkel told reporters at a press conference with the Norwegian prime minister, Erna Solberg on Tuesday (8 November).

She said it was already something that Germany needed to deal with on a daily basis.

“So this could also play a role during the election campaign," Merkel added.

In October Washington formally accused the Russian government of trying to “interfere” in the election by hacking into the Democratic Party's servers.

The charges were dismissed by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Germany will hold its general election in September 2017, but Merkel has not announced yet if she will seek a fourth term in office.

German intelligence services have already warned of increasing cyber-attacks by Russia.

In May Hans-Georg Maassen, the head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency, warned that in the previous year, Russia had launched attacks against the German parliament, Nato members and French TV.

"Cyberspace is a place for hybrid warfare," he said at the time. "It opens a new space of operations for espionage and sabotage."