Germany’s cabinet on Wednesday adopted a historic reform of its foreign intelligence service, granting the BND sweeping new powers to conduct sabotage, offensive cyber operations, and aggressive espionage in a dramatic reversal of post-World War II restraints.
The reform, championed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government, marks the most significant overhaul of Germany’s intelligence apparatus since the BND was founded in 1956. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the changes were necessary because Germany faces daily threats from foreign powers including espionage, sabotage, and cyberattacks.
Until now, Germany’s foreign intelligence agency has been legally restricted to information-gathering operations only. The constraints were deliberately imposed after the war to prevent a repeat of abuses committed by the Nazi spy apparatus. But with Russian hybrid threats escalating, Berlin has concluded that Germany can no longer afford to remain defensive.
We are daily targets of espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks and covert actions by foreign powers aimed at destabilizing Germany, Dobrindt told reporters after the cabinet meeting in Berlin. Our mission is to continually adapt the state’s protective mandate to these new threat scenarios.
Under the proposed reform, BND operatives could carry out retaliatory measures ranging from exposing those involved in hostile acts to destroying their property, sabotaging explosives before an attack, or feeding adversaries false intelligence afterward. Any response must be directly linked to the original incident and cannot endanger human life.
The reform also reduces data-protection restrictions on the agency, allowing greater use of artificial intelligence and facial recognition tools and longer data retention periods. The BND is set to receive additional funding, following a 26 percent budget increase to 1.51 billion euros this year.
The changes were accelerated by recent security incidents, including the discovery of an explosive-laden drone at Leipzig-Halle Airport found near a Ukrainian cargo plane used to transport munitions. While Germany stopped short of naming Russia as responsible, officials said the incident bore the hallmarks of a state-sponsored hybrid attack.
Nina Warken, the chancellery chief overseeing the BND reforms, said Germany has relied too heavily on allied intelligence services and that this dependence has become a vulnerability. The reform must still pass both chambers of parliament before taking effect by 2027.
Politico: Putin threat pushes Germany to give spies major new powers
The Guardian: Germany approves lifting curbs on spy agencies
Sources: Politico, The Guardian, Washington Post, BND budget reports
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