Overview
- Cabinet ministers approved a more than 700‑page draft on Wednesday that would expand operational powers for the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the domestic security office (BfV) and send the bill to parliament for approval before a planned 2027 rollout.
- The reforms would let agencies carry out offensive cyber operations, disable hostile IT systems, and in rare cases conduct targeted foreign sabotage operations while explicitly banning assassinations and other lethal measures.
- The draft broadens data access and retention and authorizes greater use of artificial intelligence and tools such as facial recognition to analyse large datasets for intelligence purposes.
- Government officials say the changes respond to growing 'hybrid' threats and will reduce Germany’s dependence on allied services, with recent incidents such as the explosive-laden drone found near Leipzig/Halle cited as part of the rationale.
- Opposition lawmakers and civil‑rights groups warn the bill lacks sufficient independent oversight and could breach constitutional limits on secret-service policing, making parliamentary amendments, judicial review, and clearer safeguards the key battlegrounds ahead.