The stricter security guidelines issued by the Ministry of Defence concerning the use of personal electronic devices have elicited both criticism and support from the political spectrum. Marc Henrichmann (CDU), the chairman of the parliamentary committee overseeing intelligence services, told the Handelsblatt that limiting private mobile phones to protect official communications is a “comprehensible and necessary step to ensure the safety of sensitive information”. According to him, the information in question consists “exclusively of work-related content subject to special confidentiality”. Private devices presented an “increased risk” because security loopholes could potentially be exploited by “hostile intelligence services” thereby providing a “potential gateway for espionage”.
In contrast, criticism has come from the Green Party. Marcel Emmerich, the Greens’ spokesperson for domestic policy, stated that there are significant areas where other agencies require improvement. He commented that the apparently late and concentrated action within the ministries regarding highly sensitive areas is “alarming and a serious security problem” calling it a “grave oversight” if basic protective measures had not already been uniformly enforced. Emmerich demanded that other ministries must “follow suit immediately” warning that Germany is “a central target for intelligence activities”. While acknowledging that the phone ban at the Ministry of Defence is correct, he maintained that it is merely “a small step”.
