Germany Moves to Unleash Its Spies as Russian Hybrid Threats Test Europe’s Security Order

Merz Government Backs Historic Expansion of BND Powers, Opening Door to Sabotage, Cyber Operations and More Aggressive Espionage

BERLIN | Germany is preparing for one of the most consequential overhauls of its intelligence apparatus since the end of World War II, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government moves to give the country’s spies sweeping new powers to confront Russian hybrid warfare, cyberattacks, sabotage and an increasingly uncertain global security environment.

The German cabinet on Wednesday approved reforms that would significantly expand the operational authority of the Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, and strengthen Germany's broader intelligence capabilities. The legislation must still clear parliament before taking effect, with implementation expected as early as 2027.

The shift represents more than a bureaucratic modernization. It signals a fundamental reassessment of how Germany intends to defend itself in an era in which espionage, cyberwarfare, drones and attacks on critical infrastructure increasingly blur the traditional boundaries between peace and armed conflict.

Under the proposed framework, German intelligence officers could gain authority to conduct offensive cyber operations, penetrate hostile computer systems, disrupt foreign operations and take more active measures against adversaries.

Those capabilities would mark a significant departure for a country whose intelligence services were deliberately constrained in the aftermath of Nazi rule.

Berlin Confronts a New Security Reality

German officials argue that the threat environment has changed too dramatically for the country's postwar intelligence model to remain adequate.

“We are daily targets of espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks and covert actions by foreign powers aimed at destabilizing Germany, at harming our country and at bringing about political and social changes within our country,” Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said following the cabinet meeting.

The government is particularly concerned about hybrid threats — operations that can combine espionage, cyberattacks, disinformation, sabotage and covert activity while remaining below the threshold of conventional warfare.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has accelerated those concerns, particularly as European governments confront suspected Russian intelligence and influence operations across the continent.

Reuters reported Wednesday that the reforms are designed to strengthen Germany's ability to respond to cyber and hybrid attacks, particularly threats associated with foreign state actors including Russia and Iran. The proposals also envision broader access to digital communications and increased use of artificial intelligence by German intelligence services.

Explosive Drone at Leipzig Airport Raises the Stakes

The urgency surrounding the debate intensified after authorities discovered an explosive-equipped drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport.

German public broadcaster ARD reported that the drone was fitted with PETN and Semtex explosives and was discovered close to four transport aircraft operated by Ukraine's Antonov Airlines.

Germany's federal prosecutor has since taken over the investigation, describing the episode as a serious attack on the country's transportation and logistics infrastructure. Investigators have not publicly established who was responsible.

The episode has nevertheless become part of a broader German debate over whether the country possesses sufficient authority, technology and personnel to confront sophisticated hybrid attacks.

The government has separately moved to expand drone defenses at German airports. Plans call for roughly 300 Federal Police specialists operating from eight locations as authorities strengthen defenses against unmanned aircraft threats.

For Berlin, the Leipzig incident illustrates the changing nature of national security: An adversary no longer needs tanks crossing Germany's borders to threaten strategic infrastructure.

A drone, cyber intrusion, or covert sabotage operation may be enough.

Germany Wants the Ability to Strike Back

The proposed intelligence overhaul seeks to move Germany beyond simply identifying threats.

Under the reform, intelligence services could be empowered to take active operational measures against hostile actors. Depending on the circumstances, such actions could include disrupting an adversary's infrastructure or digital systems and interfering with preparations for an attack.

“This is not just about enabling the services to see and hear better in the future and analyze information more quickly,” Dobrindt said. “Above all, it is about being able to take active measures against our attackers and adversaries.”

The reforms would impose limits. Operations would need to be connected to the underlying threat and could not endanger human life or physical safety.

Even so, the shift would move the BND closer to the operational posture of major Western intelligence services capable of doing more than gathering and analyzing information.

AI, Facial Recognition and a Bigger Intelligence Footprint

Germany's intelligence modernization would also be technological.

The BND is expected to receive broader authority to use artificial intelligence and other advanced analytical tools while facing fewer restrictions on certain categories of data retention and processing.

Reuters reported that the legislation would expand intelligence agencies' ability to access digital communications, penetrate information technology systems and use AI, while providing oversight through Germany's Independent Control Council.

Those expanded capabilities are likely to produce one of the central political battles surrounding the legislation: how Germany can build a more aggressive intelligence service without undermining the privacy and civil-liberties safeguards established precisely because of the country's history.

Civil-liberties advocates and political opponents have already raised concerns about the implications of expanded surveillance authority for privacy and the rule of law.

Germany's Dependence on U.S. Intelligence Comes Under Scrutiny

There is also a geopolitical calculation behind Berlin's push.

Germany has historically relied heavily on intelligence cooperation with the United States and other allies for capabilities its own agencies either lacked or were legally restricted from developing.

Merz's government increasingly views that dependence as a strategic vulnerability.

German officials argue that Europe's largest economy must become capable of producing more intelligence independently rather than assuming Washington will always supply information Berlin cannot collect itself.

That concern has gained additional political weight amid uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's approach to European security and the future contours of transatlantic cooperation.

A stronger BND would therefore serve two purposes: countering immediate Russian and other foreign threats while giving Berlin greater strategic autonomy should intelligence cooperation with Washington become less predictable.

From Postwar Restraint to Strategic Autonomy

Germany's BND was established in 1956, when the country's political institutions were still being reconstructed under the shadow of Nazi Germany and World War II.

The resulting system placed substantial legal and political restraints on German intelligence agencies.

For decades, those limitations were regarded as an essential democratic safeguard.

Now Berlin faces a difficult question: whether protections designed for Germany's postwar political environment can adequately address 21st-century threats involving artificial intelligence, drones, cyberattacks and state-sponsored sabotage.

Merz's government appears to have reached its conclusion.

Germany wants intelligence services capable not only of detecting an attack — but potentially disrupting one before it succeeds.

A Broader European Intelligence Shift

The consequences could extend well beyond Germany.

Europe is confronting a security landscape fundamentally altered by Russia's war against Ukraine, persistent cyberattacks, attacks and suspected sabotage involving critical infrastructure, and questions about the long-term extent of U.S. security commitments.

Germany's transformation could therefore become another component of Europe's broader effort to assume greater responsibility for its own defense.

For decades, German strategic culture was defined partly by restraint.

The emerging doctrine is different: restraint remains important, but vulnerability is increasingly viewed as a security risk in its own right.

If parliament approves the legislation, the BND entering the latter half of this decade could look markedly different from the intelligence service Germany maintained during most of the post-Cold War era.

The question for lawmakers will be how far those powers should extend — and how effectively Germany can ensure that a more capable intelligence service remains subject to democratic oversight.

What is already clear is that Berlin no longer believes intelligence gathering alone is enough.

In Europe's emerging era of hybrid warfare, Germany wants its spies to be able to fight back.

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-- By James W. Thomas

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