GERMANY GIVES INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES SWEEPING NEW POWERS TO HACK AND DISRUPT ADVERSARIES
Germany’s Bundestag has approved a sweeping overhaul of the country’s intelligence laws, granting the BND foreign intelligence service and domestic BfV agency new powers to actively disrupt threats rather than merely monitor them. The legislation allows measures including hacking hostile systems, disabling servers, manipulating or deleting data and, under tightly defined circumstances, interfering with infrastructure connected to serious threats. The Bundestag’s official record says the bill passed by 308 votes to 190, with 71 abstentions, as the government argued that stronger powers were necessary to confront espionage, sabotage, terrorism and state-backed cyberattacks. Critics have raised concerns about civil liberties and the expanding operational role of intelligence agencies, while the government says intrusive measures will remain subject to legal limits and oversight. Deutscher Bundestag