Overview
- Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt pressed Parliament on Monday for rapid passage of a plan to expand the powers of Germany’s intelligence services so they can better respond to persistent cyberattacks, sabotage, disinformation and espionage.
- Under the proposals the services would gain larger rights to collect, store and run automated analysis on data and for the first time be allowed to carry out limited active countermeasures such as disrupting hostile hacker infrastructure or targeting supply‑chain nodes.
- BfV President Sinan Selen warned that attacks are likely and said the authorities should reorganize now and assess effectiveness within about two years to see if the new posture actually reduces threats to democratic institutions.
- The measures open clear tensions over oversight and civil liberties because they include more intrusive tools such as covert entries and spyware for online searches and increased automated processing of personal data.
- If lawmakers approve the reforms they could change how citizens, companies and critical infrastructure are protected from foreign influence and sabotage while raising questions the Bundestag must resolve about legal safeguards, judicial review and cross‑border cooperation.