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Germany’s intelligence agencies have been granted wide-ranging new powers after lawmakers in the Bundestag agreed to a reform package. The changes allow security forces to respond directly to cyberattacks and address modern hybrid threats.
New Counterattack Capabilities
Under the updated regulations, the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), which serves as Germany’s foreign intelligence service, receives authorization to respond to foreign cyberattacks with counterattacks of its own. Permitted measures range from deleting and manipulating data to disabling entire systems and destroying physical weapons like drones deployed against Germany.
Additionally, intelligence and police agencies may covertly enter residential and business premises under specific conditions, such as preparing surveillance operations, though they remain barred from using physical force against individuals. To ensure accountability, an independent oversight board will be established. Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers specializing in domestic policy have voiced warnings against conferring powers that are deemed too broad.
Challenges of the Separation Principle
During the annual meeting of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in Berlin, BKA President Holger Münch stated that contemporary hybrid attacks present novel challenges to national security organizations. Münch noted that these threats challenge the traditional “separation principle,” which strictly separates police investigations from intelligence gathering and permits data exchange only under rigorous conditions.
Münch has long criticized this division and advocated for broader police powers alongside tighter cooperation with the domestic intelligence agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The separation principle was originally established following World War II by Allied powers, drawing from lessons of the Nazi dictatorship when the Gestapo operated outside judicial constraints as an instrument of terror.
Debating Historical Constraints
Historian Sönke Neitzel from the University of Potsdam acknowledged the historical rationale behind the separation principle at the BKA autumn conference, yet termed it “nonsense” given current threat levels, arguing it is unnecessary in a long-standing constitutional democracy. Conversely, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the Christian Social Union aims to preserve the principle’s core while expanding data exchange and transforming domestic and foreign intelligence bodies into fully functional intelligence services.
Parliament endorsed Dobrindt’s proposals with support from the governing coalition of the CDU/CSU and the SPD. Emphasizing the active defense strategy, Dobrindt stated, “Anyone who attacks us in this way must know that we are prepared to strike back. They must know that their digital infrastructure, their server infrastructure, and their software will also be targeted by us.”
Rising Threat Statistics
Backing the interior minister’s resolve, Münch highlighted that the boundary between criminal offenders and state-sponsored actors is increasingly indistinct. He noted that crime originating from abroad increased by 24% in the first six months of 2026 compared to the previous year, with fewer than 5% of these cases being successfully resolved.
Münch warned that this upward trend threatens public confidence, stating that the state’s security promise risks growing fragile and institutional trust is declining. The reform legislation moves forward as security officials grapple with ongoing risks of espionage, sabotage, and disinformation.
