Overview
- In a ZDF-Morgenmagazin interview on Tuesday, Markus Beckedahl said Germany would be "helpless and headless" in a major cyberattack due to fragmented responsibilities across authorities.
- He argued that years of underinvestment and insufficient emphasis on encryption have left the country poorly prepared for large-scale incidents.
- Beckedahl criticized the Interior Ministry for withholding software vulnerabilities for surveillance purposes, warning that criminals and foreign actors could exploit the same flaws.
- The BSI's latest situation report states that cyber spies are currently focusing on public administrations, with notable victims in defense, the judiciary, and public security.
- He called for an EU-based, open-source digital infrastructure to reduce reliance on U.S. providers subject to legal data demands, citing Microsoft as an example.