A German government move to grant intelligence services more powers gives the country a “fighting chance” in the face of cyber attacks from countries such as Iran and Russia, a leading analyst has told The National.
The draft bill, that has yet to be approved in Parliament, allows the storage of up to 30 per cent of intercepted internet traffic and in rare instances, conduct foreign sabotage missions abroad. It also approves the use of AI to analyse large amounts of information.
Germany's intelligence services have long operated with stricter rules than its neighbours. They are currently restricted to collecting, analysing, and handing over information linked to cyber threats to political decision makers. They do not actively work to prevent or change the threat.
“If this [reform] would be enacted, we would be on par with other intelligence services in other EU countries,” said Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, a non-profit organisation based in London, New York and Berlin.
The idea, he said, is for Germany to bring its intelligence services “up to speed” to face online threats, from terrorism to espionage and sabotage. Reforms under the previous government led by social democrat Olaf Scholz geared towards individual data protection had constrained agencies' access to mass information.
Before then, post-Second World War Germany had voluntarily restrained their powers to avoid excesses committed under Hitler's dictatorship.
Deterrence
While the reforms predate recent attacks that have made headlines in Germany including one at Leipzig/Halle Airport, they may help with hybrid warfare orchestrated by hostile states, Mr Schindler said: “It's Russia, it's China which does very aggressive cyber attacks against Germany all the time; it's Iran, which has been not only conducting cyber attacks but also cyber espionage.”
The draft law, which runs to more than 700 pages, may still be amended as it makes its way through parliament. Even if some aspects are watered down, the legislation will act as a deterrent, Mr Schindler said. “Germany is saying 'we're no longer at maximum just going to put agents in prison or extradite diplomats'. Now there are expectations of some detrimental effect on the other side as well,” he said.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the measures would “revolutionise Germany's security architecture”. He added: “We are transforming our intelligence services into genuine secret services.”
Earlier this month, a drone carrying explosives was found near a Ukrainian Antonov aircraft at the airport serving Leipzig and Halle, while another drone collided with a cargo plane landing at the same place. US intelligence services believe Russia was behind the attacks, claims Moscow has denied.
German media reports later revealed investigators had found DNA traces matching those linked to a 2024 incident involving incendiary parcels sent from Lithuania to the UK and Poland. European police have identified suspects in the case believed to be connected to Russian intelligence.
With better online tools, German intelligence might by now have identified the suspects operating on their soil that are linked to both attacks, Mr Schindler said. “There would have been at least a fighting chance, because I guarantee you they didn't pick up a normal phone to communicate,” he said.
Similarly, advanced cyber tools are need to dismantle criminal networks linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps operating in Germany. The reform would allow German services to access information stored on devices, even though there will never be “an internet police that sees everything”, Mr Schindler said.
After the start of the Iran war, Israeli and Jewish sites in the US and Europe, including Germany, were targeted with nearly 20 attacks being carried out. They stopped abruptly with the arrest of an Iranian-Iraqi in Turkey, called Mohammad Al Saadi.
He was later extradited to the US, where the Department of Justice charged him in May with terror offences relating to his alleged activities as an operative of Iran-backed Iraqi group Kataib Hezbollah and the IRGC. He is believed to have posted claims of responsibility on Snapchat and Telegram.
