BERLIN: Germany plans to give its spy agencies powers to hack, disrupt and deceive foreign attackers in a major overhaul of post-war intelligence limits, aiming to harden its response to growing cyber and hybrid threats, according to a draft law seen by Reuters.
German spy agencies are more tightly regulated than many foreign services and have mostly been limited to watching and reporting. After World War Two, lawmakers wanted to stop any security body from becoming too powerful inside the state.
The reform is a response to what Berlin sees as increased risks linked to Russia, with the services seeking the ability to act as well as observe.
The proposed overhaul would rewrite the legal basis for the domestic security agency and foreign intelligence service and create a single framework for covert operations, especially online.
The interior ministry plan introduces new threat categories that unlock graduated powers, from basic monitoring to “particularly serious” surveillance.
