The Federal Government has approved a comprehensive reform of the laws governing intelligence services. During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) and head of the Federal Chancellery, Nina Warken (CDU), announced that the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) will receive significantly expanded powers for collecting and storing data in the future. These services will also be permitted to actively combat threats such as sabotage acts or cyberattacks, and hackers will be able to conduct attacks against themselves.
Nina Warken noted that Germany is currently “too dependent on the support of intelligence services from other countries, and in too many areas, this help is a one-way street.” She emphasized that the government’s aim must be to strengthen its own intelligence services so that their capabilities no longer lag behind those of other European partners. The bill passed by the Federal Cabinet is intended precisely to create the necessary foundation for this improvement. Warken added that strengthening the federal intelligence services is necessary to appropriately respond to the increased domestic and foreign threat landscape and to better protect the safety of the population.
Dobrindt described the development as a “new era” for intelligence agencies, stating that they are transitioning “toward genuine secret services.” He stressed that the country faces new, severe threats daily, asserting that Germany is a “daily target of hybrid warfare.” According to Dobrindt, the reform is a direct response to the current threat environment. He concluded that this level of threat requires intelligence services that possess effective abilities, appropriate mandates, and the competitive capacity to match their international partners.
