An IT failure within the Bundeswehr has apparently caused significantly greater damage than previously officially reported. The Bundesverteidigungsministerium has now ordered an investigation into the September incident, the ministry informed the Handelsblatt. The investigation aims to clarify how the disturbance occurred and its specific effects.
Internal electronic messages and reports from the regional commands of the Bundeswehr, cited by the Handelsblatt, suggest that many more reservists were affected than the approximately 900 people originally cited by the Bundeswehr’s IT service provider, BWI. One regional command referred to a nationwide disruption, while another mentioned nearly all reservists were involved. Affected personnel could no longer log into IT systems, access official emails, or retrieve data. Exercises had to be partially canceled.
Internal reports indicate that personal data and user accounts may have been deleted during a mass data import. Restoring access proved complex. A severe finding is that the recovery of the content of personal email inboxes was not possible, according to a situation report. The data is largely considered to be lost. The affected commands were only partially operational again in early November. According to internal assessments, complete restoration could extend until the first half of 2027.
The Ministry of Defence partially contradicts this account. It stated that a permanent deletion of data cannot currently be ruled out. At the same time, measures have been taken jointly with BWI to prevent similar malfunctions in the future. Konstantin von Notz, Deputy for the Green Party, described BWI’s information policy as absolutely insufficient should the reports be confirmed. Roderich Kiesewetter, a CDU security politician, warned about the consequences for national defense. He stated that if reservists are unreachable and communication lines fail, defense capabilities are severely restricted.
