Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) is planning to grant the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) extensive new powers, describing this as a fundamental shift in strategy for Germany’s intelligence services. Speaking to the newspaper “Bild”, Dobrindt stated that the complex challenges posed by hybrid threats-including attempts at destabilization through sabotage, espionage, cyberattacks, and covert actions by foreign powers-will now have a new response.
According to details surrounding the proposed legislation, these new powers will significantly exceed the BfV’s existing mandate. Dobrindt explained to the newspaper, “We are turning our intelligence services into true secret services. It is high time that we position ourselves as competitive and on equal footing with our partner agencies worldwide. Achieving this requires operational capabilities and active powers to combat modern state terrorism and extremist groups more effectively.”
The planned enhancements include several critical operational capabilities. The BfV would gain the ability to actively disrupt ongoing operations conducted by its opponents. Future responsibilities could involve falsifying information, swapping functional materials for non-functional ones, neutralizing explosive devices, conducting online searches, and accessing video surveillance systems. Furthermore, the deployment of Artificial Intelligence is set to be expanded within the office.
In addition to these powers, the BfV would be enabled to launch counter-measures against the IT systems of attackers in the event of a cyberattack. Dobrindt emphasized that the goal is not merely to detect threats faster. He stressed, “It is not just about seeing better and analyzing more swiftly in the future; it is about being able to take active action against our attackers and adversaries.”
