German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt aims to transform the Verfassungsschutz into a true secret service with operative capabilities to counter hybrid threats. The BND is also set for reform to enable digital countermeasures. The plans face legal challenges stemming from historical separations between intelligence services and police.
Berlin. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has unveiled plans to make the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz) and the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) more effective. In an interview with the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND), he stated that merely collecting intelligence is insufficient for a modern service with defensive functions. "Therefore, I am striving to expand the Verfassungsschutz into a real secret service. It should receive operative capabilities that enable it, for example, to take active countermeasures against cyberattacks from abroad and to disrupt an attacker or destroy their infrastructure," Dobrindt said.
These powers include "hackback" measures in cyberspace as well as operative interventions in the physical realm, such as preventing sensitive information from falling into foreign hands. The federal government is currently discussing this. Dobrindt emphasized the need for closer cooperation among security agencies in the face of hybrid threats from home and abroad. A joint "Hybrid Defense Center" at the Verfassungsschutz already coordinates efforts between the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Verfassungsschutz, and Federal Police.
For the BND, the government plans special rules if the threat level rises sharply. The service, considered a "vegetarian" compared to the CIA and NSA, should be allowed to conduct digital counterstrikes or sabotage enemy infrastructure, but not physical interventions or killings—the latter would violate the Basic Law. Jurist Markus Ogorek from the University of Cologne sees legal leeway here, as long as the informational separation principle is maintained.
The Verfassungsschutz faces stricter rules from Federal Constitutional Court rulings: Intensive measures are only permissible subsidiarly if police assistance cannot be obtained in time. Ogorek points to opportunities in the digital space, where rapid action is often essential. Dobrindt announced plans to submit draft laws in the first half of the year and spoke of a "turning point for intelligence services." The proposals stem from lessons learned from the Nazi era, which mandate a clear separation between services and police.