German intelligence agencies have been given sweeping new powers. Members of the Bundestag agreed on a reform package on Friday.
Under the new rules, the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Germany’s foreign intelligence service, will be allowed to respond to cyberattacks by foreign powers with its own counterattacks. The range of possible measures is wide, from deleting and manipulating data to disabling entire systems and, if necessary, even destroying physical weapons such as drones that could be deployed against Germany.
Under certain conditions, agencies will also be authorized to clandestinely enter homes and commercial premises, for example to prepare surveillance operations. However, they will not be authorized to use force against people. An independent oversight board must be created to monitor the agencies.
Opposition MPs specializing in domestic policy have warned against granting too broad powers.
Separation of powers hampers procedures
Just this week, the President of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, emphasized that current hybrid attacks pose a new challenge for organizations that ensure the country’s security. At his organization’s annual meeting in Berlin this week, he said “hybrid attacks” challenged the “separation principle”, which This means that the police carry out investigations while the intelligence services collect information. The exchange of data between the two is only permitted under strict conditions.
Münch has long opposed this strict distribution of responsibilities. He was calling for expanded powers for police and closer cooperation with the domestic intelligence agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, charged with combating espionage and sabotage.
The principle of separation results from lessons learned from the Nazi dictatorship, when the secret state police (Gestapo) operated largely outside of judicial constraints and served as the regime’s central instrument of terror, used to oppress and murder Jews, Sinti and Roma, homosexuals, communists, social democrats and many others. The Allied Powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II then decided that police and intelligence services should remain institutionally separate and be given different powers.
Historian Sönke Neitzel from the University of Potsdam considers the principle of separation understandable in its historical context. At the BKA’s autumn conference, however, he called it “absurd” in light of the current threat landscape and said it was no longer necessary in a country that has been a constitutional democracy for decades.
While Neitzel considers the principle of separation to be outdated, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the center-right Christian Social Union (CSU) wants to preserve it in its essential form. According to him, even a more extensive exchange of data does not violate this principle. But at the same time, he made it clear that he wanted to transform the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the BND, with a national vocation, into “real intelligence services”.
This legislative reform brings Dobrindt closer to this goal. Parliament approved the plans of the Minister of the Interior with the votes of the government coalition composed of the Christian Democratic and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Espionage, sabotage and disinformation
Dobrindt insisted that Germany intends to take an active approach to defending itself against cyberattacks: “Whoever attacks us in this way must know that we are ready to retaliate. They must know that their digital infrastructure, their server infrastructure and their software will also be targeted by us.”
BKA President Holger Münch welcomes Dobrindt’s determination and highlights the growing threat posed by cyberattacks. According to him, the line between criminal actors and state-sponsored actors is becoming increasingly blurred. As a result, intelligence and law enforcement agencies face the same challenge.
To underline the scale of the threat as he perceives it, Münch cites two statistics: in the first six months of 2026, crime from abroad increased by 24% compared to the same period of the previous year. What concerns him most is that less than 5% of these cases are resolved. The BKA leader sees this trend as more dangerous than ever: “The state’s promise of security may become fragile. Confidence in the ability of its institutions to act effectively and stand firm is declining.”
This article was originally written in German.
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