Germany Approves Sweeping New Hacking Powers for Intelligence Agencies

BERLIN, Nov 14 (OPA) — The Bundestag passed the legislation on Friday by a vote of 308 to 190, with 71 abstentions, backed by the governing Christian Democrats and Social Democrats. The far-right Alternative for Germany and Die Linke opposed the measure, citing privacy concerns and the historic separation between intelligence gathering and police work.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the legislation as a reform of the century, arguing that Germany needed stronger intelligence services to confront terrorism and hostile foreign operations. The changes expand the role of the foreign intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst, and the domestic Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution beyond gathering information to actively disrupting threats.

Under the new framework, domestic intelligence will be able to take technical measures against serious threats, such as deleting stolen information from an attacker's server. The foreign intelligence agency will gain operational powers to intervene against threats abroad, including disrupting servers used by state-backed hackers.

The reform is a direct result of the Zeitenwende and foreign policy challenges since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The main provisions are scheduled to take effect on December 31, pending completion of the legislative process.