Overview
- The Gemeinsames Zentrum zur Abwehr hybrider Bedrohungen (GAZ Hybrid) opened Tuesday in Berlin and has begun work as a hosted coordination platform for federal and state intelligence services, police forces and cyber agencies.
- Its stated mission is to pool and analyse information to detect and respond to hybrid tactics such as disinformation campaigns, espionage, sabotage and cyber operations.
- The centre is hosted at the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) but is explicitly not a new authority; it operates through five working groups covering situation, operational exchange, disinformation, industry liaison and analysis.
- Officials warned that persistent campaigns attributed to state actors, notably Russia with China also referenced, motivated the centre’s launch and cited prior cases such as foam‑in‑exhaust attacks and an incendiary parcel as examples.
- The GAZ Hybrid will establish formal liaison with companies and trade groups to fill information gaps that businesses say leave them poorly informed and to speed coordinated defensive measures and investigations.