Germany moves to give BND and Verfassungsschutz offensive cyber and sabotage powers
German networks hit by state-backed attacks could soon get a legal counterstrike. Germany's coalition is drafting powers to let the BND and Verfassungsschutz hack back, disrupt hostile infrastructure and run cyber operations. Government wants it passed this year.
German networks hit by state-backed attacks could soon get a legal counterstrike, and the shift would touch how the country fights espionage, sabotage and cyber intrusion. Germany's governing coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD is drafting the biggest overhaul of its intelligence law in decades. For the first time, the foreign intelligence service BND and the domestic Verfassungsschutz would be allowed not only to collect and analyze information, but to act. The draft would let the agencies disrupt the infrastructure that attacks originate from, run cyber operations against hostile systems, redirect data streams, and deploy targeted deception against adversaries. The reasoning is a security environment that has hardened since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Officials point to sabotage, espionage and hybrid interference, and argue German services have long carried far weaker operational powers than their international peers. The plan also reworks oversight, with an Independent Control Council set to authorize and review sensitive activities. None of this is law yet. The coalition says it wants the reform passed this year, but expanded intrusion powers, rules on state trojans, and the balance between agency reach and parliamentary control are already drawing scrutiny. Germany's Federal Constitutional Court has repeatedly demanded precise limits on surveillance, and any final text will be measured against that bar. What to watch: how much authority moves to the new control council, and whether parliament approves offensive cyber powers being used on German soil as well as abroad.