Overview
- The plan would grant the Verfassungsschutz operational capabilities for active cyber countermeasures, including disrupting or destroying hostile infrastructure attributed to foreign attackers.
- Dobrindt also seeks limited offline authorities to block the loss of sensitive information to foreign states, with details still under internal government review.
- A new joint “Abwehrzentrum hybrid” has been established and will be housed at the Verfassungsschutz to coordinate responses to hybrid threats across security agencies.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz previously endorsed exploring legal bases for striking back at cyberattack origins after Berlin attributed recent attacks and election disinformation to Russian actors, including the GRU.
- Broader powers for the BND are being discussed, potentially allowing digital counterattacks or sabotage under defined conditions, while constitutional limits and the court’s subsidiarity doctrine will constrain highly intrusive measures.