♪ >> this is dw news live from berlin. tonight more revelations on a cyber attack in germany. lawmakers say it is still taking place, the damage, considerable. german media report a russian backpacker group -- russian-backed her group known as snake is behind it. also coming up, russian president vladimir putin lays out his vision for the country, promising to cut poverty in half and to keep enemies at bay with invincible nuclear weapons.

and u.s. president donald trump makes good on a promise to u.s. steelworkers by announcing punitive tariffs on foreign imports. the protectionist measures have sent the stock market plummeting. also coming up, the beast from the east savages europe. a siberian cold front pledges the continent into deep freeze, bringing snow, transport chaos and some of the lowest temperatures in years. ♪ brent: i'm brent goff. it's good to have you with us. we are learning more on the cyberattack on german government computer -- german government computers. lawmakers confirmed the attack is ongoing and believed to be in the defense and foreign ministries. security agencies reportedly detected the breach last december and allowed it to

continue in a controlled manner while they monitored it. lawmakers were not informed until this week about that fact. a group with links to the russian government is expected of carrying out the cyberattack. >> the german government's communication network has been breached by hackers. the parliament's secret advisory body has been informed by the ancellery and security services and they say it is not over. >> this is an actual cyber attack on the government's information network and data is ongoing. >> the government has known about this since december. it spent weeks observing the attack to learn more about the hacker's activities. not even the agency responsible for intelligence was informed. delegates are angry about being left out of the loop. >> we would all understand of the chancellor's office said it needs to observe a critical issue a little longer. but the fact that no one said anything at all on the contrary, means we are once again in a

position to learn about such incidents from the media which i think is absurd. >> parliamentarians agree the situation is dire. >> this is alarming, of course, although cyber attacks have been around for a long time. the government and i.t. security in this country are not geared up toward them off. the federal government must act on this now because it is a serious threat. >> the extent of the hackers's information does not appear apparent. >> i did not assume sensitive documents have really been leaked because it concerns the federal information network. it is all about communication. there is no sensitive data on any server. it is not that simple. >> there is speculation about the origin of the attack and how it was carried out. some analysts point to

indications of russian negative while others warn against premature accusations. >> just one attack on germany's integrity is one too many and i don't care where it comes from. if is from russia, there is as much to criticize as if it originated from the national security agency. >> lawmakers now want to discuss the details in a meeting of the parliament's supervisor body -- supervisory body on intelligence. brent: joining me now is a member of the social democrats and a spokesman on the digital agenda of the german parliament. good to have you on this show. we understand this cyberattack is ongoing, it is happening right now. should people be worried? >> i don't think so. after what i have heard today,

the government has more or less everything under control and it seems that the scale of the attack, it is not on a broad scale. but we, i mean, you know, it's sometimes it is not the quantity of information that is stolen, sometimes it's only the quality. brent: you say as of today, you know this and this and this about it. a lot of members of the oversight committee were outraged that they have been left out of the loop when it comes to this attack. are you angry? >> i'm angry and i'm worried, because we have that special oversight committee which has its meetings in the bunker in the bundestag, and has its meetings in secrecy. and if they are not informed, that's really a problem between the parliament and the government. and over the last three years i was in the an essay in cori committee and we learned a lot about the problems of the german security services and the

intelligence community, and what the government is telling the parliament. and we have seen that there might be another country behind that, and this is definitely something we need to know is members of parliament. brent: are you convinced is russia behind this cyberattack? >> no i'm not convinced, because it want to see facts. i have talked to many security experts and we know it is quite delicate to locate the origin of an attack, and to really understand who is behind it because we know that intelligence services are very good in faking some of the tracks. brent: a fast the case, that means you have to be just as good if not better in terms of finding out who launched it and how to defend yourself. there has been a lot of criticism that the german government has -- is not up to snuff when it comes to defending itself against cyber attackers.

is that the case? have you been asleep at the wheel? >> no, that's not the case. we have learned over the last year the areas where we need to improve. and if we have a new government over the weekend, i know that we have many areas where we want to invest in the future, to improve the security. but at the end of the day it is very difficult in germany, our federal structure, we have many services who have cyber security on their agenda but it is really one of the top priorities for the upcoming government, to focus on that effort. brent: there is a new government right now. it has been that way for about five months. is it me germany is vulnerable -- does that mean germany is vulnerable to cyber attacks? >> no, it's not the government sitting at the computers and defending our networks.

so, that is completely functional. i mean, we are talking about trust between the government and the parliament, and this is a very important aspect. brent: how good is that trust tonight? >> it is damaged, and i am looking forward to a new minister for the interior. and we will have also a reshuffling of the chancellery. brent: you think it is just party politics here? do you think if you had a social democrat interior ministry, then the information would have been shared? >> and that is speculation. i know what the last minister of the interior and his key staff members did over the last four years, and that was not, i was not convinced about what he did, especially during the snowden revelations and stuff like that. i think it is good that we will see new faces in that area, and

that's a fresh start. and it's not about party politics. brent: ok, we will take you at your word on that. let's talk a bit about what german intelligence is doing and can do, particularly with the nsa. we know there is a lot of working together. are you more confident today then say, two years ago, that this working together with the americans makes germany saver in cyberspace -- safer in cyberspace? >> yes, it makes germany saver. because besides what we learned after snowden, what the nsa is doing, it is the most capable intelligence service in the world and i am completely confident that we were able to defend our country better, with the help of our allies. but what we also know is, there needs to be a 360 degree view.

so there are, in the intelligence community, there are no friends. brent: if it's confirmed russia is by this attack, what will the german response be? >> that is a good question. we need to understand the scale of the attack but we think that we need to calm to a new normal with russia, but attacks like that will make it very difficult to come back to a normal with russia. brent: that is indeed the case. ian zimmerman with the german parliament, the bundestag, mr. zimmerman thank you. russian president vladimir putin has used his annual state of the nation address to warn global powers that they must now reckon with russia's military might, as well as boasting of his new generation of invincible weapons.

mr. putin has also pledged to cut poverty in his country in half in six years and improve the environment. he is seeking an unprecedented fourth term in elections which are due in 17 days. >> a pre-election video meant to impress and to intimidate, showing a russian missileaid to be le t peneate fenses. vladimir putin's state of the state speech was an aggressive performance, using his foreign policy to stoke his popularity. >> russia was and continues to be the greatest nuclear power, but nobody wanted to talk with us, nobody wanted to listen. well, listen now. [applause] >> the presentation also showed a nuclear-armed torpedo that analysts say could strike the u.s. west coast. all, putin said, in the name of

peace. >> we are not threatening anyone and are not gng t attack yone. we are not going to ta anything away from anyone. we have everything we need your -- we have everything we need. [applause] but he also announced a new emphasis on the domestic economy. >> we need our economy to grow fast than the worldcono. i know it's not an easy task but we need that to happen in order to solve our social, military and infrastructure challenges. >> there was little detail on how russia would achieve that goal but the speech was a hit with the audience of senior officials and lawmakers. >> nobody has to force the americans into peace and cooperation. russia has a lot of strength we don't threaten anyone. but we are able to have an impact on the future of the world and putin's speech today

confirmed it. >> hardly a hostile audience, but with elections just over two weeks away, it was a demonstration of strength and power meant to drive voters to the polls and what is expected to be another landslide in putin's favor. brent: in poland, a that makes it a crime to blame the country for eating the holocaust has taken effect. that has led to a major diplomatic standoff with israel. polish and israeli officials met thursday in jerusalem to discuss the new law. it imposes punishes up to three years fosuggesting polish complicity in not see crimes -- complicity in nazi crimes. many state is meant to suppress debate and research. for more on this now we want to go to rabbi marvin hier, head of the simon wiesenthal center in los angeles.

l me, what do you think about this law taking effect today? -- tell me, what do you think about this taking effect today? >> we are critics of this law. and we are critics of theay they are reinterpreting history. as you know, simon wiesenthal just presented, we had in our archive's state department document, written by the state department in 1946. the state department document clearly tells the world wide jews -- why jews are so persecuted. that document from the state department says anti-semitism was prevalent in poland before the war, during the war and after the war. it has nothing to do wit communism. nobody in the jewish community

says that the concentration camps were polish concentration camps, they were nazi concentration camps in poland. but nobody believes that anti-semitism, as the polish leaders now present it, was a small problem in poland. on the contrary, it was a prolific problem. brent: rabbi, i have that document you are talking about. i've been looking through it and there has been lots written about the document. the "jerusalem post" reports polish jews were so worried about postwar anti-semitism in poland that many were fleeing to germany. that says a lot right there. you think the law that went into effect today, is in an attempt -- is it an attempt by the

polish government to rewrite history? >> yes, i believe so. because all they had to say was, we object to anyone calling auschwitz and the other camps polish camps, when they were nazi germany's cap's. that's a fair criticism. i would agree with that. but then when they said, of course there were a few polls that were bad, just there were -- just as there were a few jews that were bad. that is preposterous. that is a lie. what there was, was prevalent anti-semitism in all segments of polish society before the second world war, during the second world war and after the second world war. yes, there were poles who risked their lives to save jews. we honor them every day. that doesn't mean you rewrite history. brent: rabbi hier, we would like

to talk more with you but unfortunately we are out of time. we appreciate you sharing your time and valuable insights into this new law that has taken effect today in poland. rabbi marvin hie joining us tonight from los angeles. thank you. rhere are some other stories making headlines around the world. catalonia's ousted leader has dropped his bid to again be appointed regional president. speaking from brussels, he said the move was needed to break a political deadlock between separatist parties and catalonia. he is in self-imposed exile in belgium and is wanted in spain for his role in catalonia's failed secession bid. italy's former prime minister silvio berlusconi has made his only joint appearance with leaders of his center-right coalition. it's an attempt to show a united front to dispel rumors of

internal rifts ahead of elections sunday. mr. berlusconi's central right alliance is the only group with a chance of winning a majority. the european union president has arrived in london for talks with british prime minister theresa may. on wednesday may rejected any you plan to allow northern ireland to stay in the european customs union after britain leaves the eu. britain is now being challenged to come up with its own plan to come up with a hard border in viral -- border in ireland after brexit. you are watching dw news live from berlin. still to come, the beast from the east, the siberian cold front that has brought whether chaos to europe. all the latest on a day in the deep freeze. and a business update now with hobby air, where we are in the studio now where it is nice and

cold. -- it javier: donald trump has announced new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. the plan is to levy a 25% charge on steel and 10% on aluminum. for weeks, internal wrangling in the white house delayed his decision. >> stalemate in china. a thorn in donald trump's side. for months he has threatened to increase tariffs against chinese imports, and against european ones as well. but now the time for talk is over. at the end of a meeting with steel and aluminum producers he announced the planned a levies. -- the planned levies. >> we have with us the biggest steel companies in the night's states. they used to be a lot bigger. but they're going to be a lot bigger again. and we have the big aluminum

companies in the united states. and they've been very unfairly treated by bad policy, by bad trade deals, by other countries. they been horribly treated by the countries. >> trump's primary target is china due to its massive overproduction of steel and aluminum which tries down global prices, flooding markets with cheap products. this would affect german metals exporters, their industry association calling for the eu to strike back with countermeasures. brent: it's a controversial topic that will of course have lots of and kate -- lots of implications. i'm joined by our editor from the dw business partner, and we are joined by alexander in washington. it's good to have you with us to help us analyze these. controversial terrorists that have just been imposed and will be imposed next week. alexander, i would like to start with you. we saw sharp losses on wall street after this decision was made public. so clearly the markets are not taking a well.

what reactions are you seeing? alexander: when we talk about representatives of the steel and aluminum industries that were invited today to the white house, of course we have to stay they seemed to be very happy and hoping that this decision is going to the to an increase in domestic production and two more jobs. but the president is also facing a lot of criticism here in the united states, from lawmakers even in his own party, from experts and also from businesses who are using steel intensively, from carmakers to beverage firms. they fear that the measures can raise prices and their industries and cost jobs. >> alexandra, that is one fear. another fear is that this could lead to a trade war.

what reactions are you hearing to that, is there fear this could lead to a new trade war? alexandra: yes, of course. and president trump is clearly showing that he is determined to follow through with his campaign promises, even if these measures can lead to a trade war. and we know from the past the countries affected by tariffs fight back. china, for example, has threatened to retaliate. the question is, and we don't know yet whether there are going to be exemptions from these tariffs for canada, for example. we don't know what it is going to be in the case of the european union. and we are hearing that brazil and the color actively trying right now to be granted these exceptions. >> it's definitely an early stage and difficult to know how it is going to play out. daniel, turning to europe, we know steel is a key industry here. what reactions have we seen here in the old continent?

daniel: jean-claude junker, president of the european commission, says it is a blatant intervention to protect u.s. domestic industry with no national security justification. as for companies inside of europe, it really depends on their exposure to the u.s. market am kind of industry they are in. volkswagen, for example, uses a lot of steel to produce its cars . in its european production we are going to see more of that cheap steel from abroad entering europe because it can't enter the u.s., so the cost will come down and profit will go up very but for volkswagen operations in the u.s. it's going to be more expensive. so it depends on the level of exposure. that as i said, with steel companies based in europe in which sell most of their their income, so they arehit, going to be bracing themselves for that impact. >> thank you danl -- inky

daniel, and alexandra. ♪ brent: formula one wrapped up its first preseason test thursday. heavy snow interrupted preparations early this week. it let up long enough today to give drivers valuable time on the track. >> snow we scenes which had written off the previous day's action at finally disappeared for thursday's final test date in barcelona. that fog blanketed the track, meaning went conditions prevailed. mercedes made most of the track time, posting the fastest lap of the day. but max was three seconds behind in his red bull as slippery conditions caused problems. marcus ericsson spun out on turn two into the gravel, causing a

short delay. >> he had a bit of the spin but nothing too dramatic, just got stuck in the gravel. the guys had to clean it up a bit and then we world driving again. >> fettle also rented to trouble. the frawley our driver had one request on his mind. >> to get rid of the window jackets, to get more in the groove, so ideally a lot of laps and good feeling. >> with the season starting in australia march 25, formula one teams will be praying for better conditions next week. brent: that siberian beast from the east cold front has plunged much of europe into a deep freeze. but we are getting some stunning pictures of winter landscapes. take a look at this. it's from a drone, i wintry

venice -- a wintry venice. the snow and ice have caused havoc. the freeze is expected to continue. >> the winter weather system has caused widespread destruction to public services and travel. this busy airport hub was forced to suspend all flights for several hours after snowfall blanketed the swiss city overnight. heavy blizzards and biting temperatures are continuing to lash europe, from the far north to the mediterranean south. a red alert has been extended as parts of britain faced severe weather conditions. but some have been enjoying the unusually snowy weather, like the children since paying -- these children in spain, where hundreds of schools canceled classes. in paris authorities urged commuters to leave their cars at

home because of treacherous roads. many drivers were left stranded in their vehicles due to heavy snow on roadways. the chill reached the mediterranean would normally-sunny nice blanketed in snow. meanwhile in denmark, the winter weather spells trouble for this fishing boat. it got stuck in the frozen waters of the limp fjord. after the skipper was rescued his vessel slowly drifted into a bridge, breaking the boat's mast. brent: after short break i will be back to take you through the day. ♪

consuelo consu this week on wealthtrack a rare interview with small companies stock pioneer chuck royce about where he is still finding value in a challenging market. chuck royce is next on consuelo mack wealthtrack. ♪ >> new york life along with main stays mutual funds offers investment and retirement solutions so you can help your clients keep good going. >> additional funding provided by thornburg investment management. active