On a Friday in November, Germany's Bundestag voted to let its intelligence services move from watching threats to acting against them. The change, passed by the governing Christian Democrats and Social Democrats over the objections of the far right and the Left, comes after an airport drone attack that Berlin traces to Russia. It marks a turn in a country long wary of its own secret services, toward a belief that vigilance alone no longer keeps a nation safe.
Germany Grants Intelligence Agencies Sweeping New Powers to Hack and Disrupt Adversaries
Until now they could spot a threat but not act on it.
Mark
Why does this vote matter beyond the numbers?
Mimi
Because it changes what German spies are. Until now they collected and analysed. Now they can act, like deleting stolen data from an attacker's server or disrupting state-backed hackers' servers abroad.
Mark
What pushed it forward?
Mimi
The August drone found with explosives near an Antonov Airlines cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle. Berlin blamed Russia, and the diplomatic closures followed on both sides.
Luke
Careful there. Berlin attributed it to Russia, saying the drone was consistent with Russian technology. Russia denied it. That's an accusation, not an established finding we can check.
Mark
Fair. And the bill's supporters?
Mimi
Dobrindt calls it a reform of the century and says Germany is now level with European partners. Experts told the Bundestag its powers lacked modern intervention tools.
Luke
Those are the government's and invited experts' views. Bigge's point about reduced US intelligence sharing is his analysis, not a documented fact in this reporting.
Mark
What do critics fear?
Mimi
Die Linke says it blurs intelligence and policing and amounts to a secret police, which resonates with the Stasi memory. They also say it fails constitutional standards.
Luke
That's their argument. Whether the courts agree is unknown, and the source doesn't say how the safeguards or conditions actually work.
Mark
What's next?
Mimi
Main provisions are due December 31, pending the rest of the legislative process.
El Pulso
- A drone loaded with explosives was found near a cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle airport, and Berlin has publicly blamed Russia while Moscow denies involvement.
- Germany and Russia have traded expulsions, closing consulates and cultural institutions in a rapidly escalating diplomatic standoff.
- The Bundestag passed the reform 308 to 190, giving the BND and BfV authority to disrupt threats, including hacking foreign state servers.
- Die Linke warns the new powers could amount to a de facto secret police, and critics fear the Stasi's shadow is being revisited.
- The main provisions take effect December 31, and a wider public debate may still break out as the state's reach abroad expands.
On a Friday in November, Germany's Bundestag voted to let its intelligence services move from watching threats to acting against them. The change, passed by the governing Christian Democrats and Social Democrats over the objections of the far right and the Left, comes after an airport drone attack that Berlin traces to Russia. It marks a turn in a country long wary of its own secret services, toward a belief that vigilance alone no longer keeps a nation safe.
On Friday, the Bundestag voted 308 to 190, with 71 abstentions, to give Germany's intelligence services a power they have never held: the ability to act against threats rather than only observe them. The Christian Democrats and Social Democrats backed the bill. The Alternative for Germany and the Left Party, Die Linke, opposed it.
The law lets the foreign service, the BND, and the domestic service, the BfV, do more than gather and analyse. The BfV can take technical steps against serious dangers, such as deleting stolen data from an attacker's server. The BND can disrupt servers used by state-backed hackers abroad. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called it a "reform of the century," arguing that agencies had sometimes identified threats without any authority to stop them, and that German services needed to match their European partners.
The reform followed an August incident at Leipzig-Halle airport, where authorities found an explosive-laden drone near a cargo plane belonging to Antonov Airlines. Berlin says its intelligence community concluded the drone resembled Russian technology and formally accused Moscow. Russia denied involvement. The diplomatic response was swift, with Germany closing the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and a Berlin cultural centre, and Moscow retaliating against a German consulate and the Goethe-Institut in St Petersburg.
Analysts see the law as a product of the Zeitenwende, the policy shift after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, compounded by doubts about American reliability. Opponents, led by Die Linke, argue that key provisions fall short of constitutional standards for intrusive surveillance and recall the Stasi, the East German secret police. The party, which recently won the Berlin city-state election, has warned that the powers could effectively create a secret police. So far the criticism has come mostly from lawmakers and civil liberties groups. The main provisions are set to take effect on December 31, pending the final steps of the legislative process.
On Friday, the Bundestag voted 308 to 190, with 71 abstentions, to give Germany's intelligence services a power they have not had before: the ability to act against threats rather than only watch them. The governing Christian Democrats and Social Democrats supported the bill. The far-right Alternative for Germany and the Left Party, Die Linke, voted against it.
The law changes what the two main agencies are allowed to do. The foreign intelligence service, the BND, and the domestic service, the BfV, have until now gathered and analysed information. Under the reform they can also disrupt certain threats. The BfV will be able to take technical measures against serious dangers, such as deleting stolen information from an attacker's server. The BND will be able to intervene against threats abroad, including by disrupting servers used by state-backed hackers.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called it a "reform of the century" and said Germany needs stronger services to face terrorism and hostile foreign operations. The government describes a gap in the existing system: agencies could sometimes identify a threat but had no authority to step in, even when no other agency was responsible or able to act. Dobrindt said the changes put German services on equal footing with their European partners. In earlier parliamentary debates, ministers argued the BND should not have to stand aside when other authorities cannot stop a particularly serious threat. Experts who spoke to the Bundestag said German capabilities "lack modern intervention powers" compared with Western counterparts.
The vote came months after an incident in August at Leipzig-Halle airport, a state-owned facility. German authorities found a drone loaded with explosives near a cargo plane belonging to the Ukrainian firm Antonov Airlines. Berlin formally accused Russia of attempting an attack. Dobrindt said the intelligence community had concluded the drone was consistent with Russian technology. Russia denied involvement.
The diplomatic fallout was swift. Germany closed the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House, a cultural centre in Berlin. Moscow answered by ordering the closure of a German consulate in St Petersburg and the Goethe-Institut.
Florian Bigge, programme director at the Korber-Stiftung think tank, told Al Jazeera the reform is a direct result of the Zeitenwende, the epochal shift in German policy tied to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He said the BND has publicly pushed for expanded powers since 2024, and that approval came amid an "increasingly uncertain international order." In his view, Russia is the main trigger, through sabotage, cyberattacks and drones, compounded by fear of US unpredictability and reduced US intelligence sharing.
Opposition came mostly from Die Linke, which raised concerns about privacy and the historic separation between intelligence gathering and police work. In a parliamentary motion, the party argued that key provisions fail to meet constitutional standards for intrusive surveillance. It has warned the powers would effectively create a German secret police, a charge with weight for citizens who lived under the Stasi, East Germany's secret police from 1950 to 1990. Die Linke is not a marginal voice: in September it won the Berlin city-state election with 25.7 percent and can appoint a mayor after forming a coalition.
Bigge said criticism so far has come from lawmakers and civil liberties groups, and that a broader public debate may still arrive as the state expands what it can do abroad. Germans want more engagement, he said, but by that they mean diplomacy. The main provisions are scheduled to take effect on December 31, pending completion of the legislative process.
Citas Notables
Dobrindt called the legislation a "reform of the century."— Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt
Russia is the main trigger: sabotage, cyberattacks and drones, plus fear of US unpredictability and reduced US intelligence sharing.— Florian Bigge, Korber-Stiftung
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