Bundestag begins deliberations on intelligence reform granting BND offensive sabotage powers

Overhaul of federal intelligence powers

The German Bundestag began formal deliberations on 24 September 2026 on draft legislation to overhaul the legal framework governing the country's intelligence apparatus. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the reform is designed to transform the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV) and the foreign intelligence service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), into genuine secret services. The legislative initiative addresses recent rulings from the Federal Constitutional Court concerning the transfer of intelligence data to other authorities. Under the proposed rules, the BND would be permitted to respond directly to incoming hostile actions by disrupting or destroying the IT infrastructure of state-directed hacker groups. The BND could also target supply networks and production lines abroad to halt the manufacturing of weapons, drones, and explosives.

International alignment and offensive operations

The federal government justified the expanded authorities by pointing to a deteriorating security environment marked by hybrid aggression, including espionage, sabotage, cyber strikes, and coordinated disinformation campaigns. German officials noted that partner agencies abroad already possess wider legal scopes, allowing them to share critical tips on weapons acquisitions by extremists and foreign state operations. SPD parliamentary group deputy leader Sonja Eichwede argued that expanded authority is necessary to maintain parity with allied services.

Our services must be able to work at eye level with our allies; that promotes equal cooperation and increases security.

The legislation maintains an absolute prohibition on targeted killings by German agents. The shift toward active counter-measures follows earlier statements by BND President Martin Jäger at the Munich Security Conference regarding Russian threats.

I am deeply convinced that we should prove much more often that we are capable of doing very similar things, so that the other side also feels the pain.

Domestic surveillance expansion and oversight

Under the proposal, the BfV will maintain its mandate to track extremist organizations and conduct counter-espionage, but will receive new technical and physical access permissions. Under strict statutory conditions, BfV personnel would be authorized to enter private apartments and commercial premises secretly to plant spyware for online searches or neutralize weapons and explosives. Executive policing measures, including interrogations and arrests, remain strictly prohibited for the BfV. The legislation introduces regulatory frameworks for using artificial intelligence to process large data collections and cross-reference biometric images. It also expands capabilities to intercept encrypted communications while establishing updated standards for sharing information with private operators to protect critical infrastructure.

Expert warnings over operational dangers

Intelligence expert Erich Schmidt-Eenboom raised sharp objections to granting offensive cyber and sabotage mandates to German services, arguing that the BND is unsuited to counter the Russian Federation. He noted that former BND president Gerhard Schindler stated upon taking office in 2011 that there were no Rambos in the service, following earlier characterizations of the BND as a vegetarian among intelligence agencies. Schmidt-Eenboom warned that placing covert saboteurs abroad carries severe risks of penetration by Russian counter-intelligence. He recalled that eastern services previously compromised the BND stay-behind network during the Cold War, and cited the prosecution of BND officer Carsten L. for alleged high treason with Russia's FSB as evidence of persistent counter-espionage hazards.