In summary: German intelligence services gain statutory authority to actively penetrate foreign attackers’ IT systems, copy and delete data, and deliberately spread disinformation under strict conditions.
The Federal Government is planning a legislative reform that grants the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Federal Intelligence Service active hackback powers against foreign cyber attackers. The new regulation is intended as a direct response to growing threats, particularly from Russia.
A bill from the Interior Ministry reforms post-war era historical restrictions on German intelligence services. Until now, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Federal Intelligence Service have been limited to observation and reporting in the digital sphere. The draft introduces new threat categories and creates graduated powers up to measures with substantial intrusiveness.
Under strict legal conditions, the authorities may henceforth penetrate IT systems of foreign actors, copy or delete data, and render tools used in attacker campaigns inoperable. This applies especially in large-scale cyber operations. At the same time, rules for source telecommunications surveillance and online searches are being restructured. New is also the authority to deliberately spread disinformation under certain conditions.
The draft requires telecommunications providers, digital platforms, transport companies and financial service providers to disclose information upon secret orders. Violations may be punished with fines of up to one million euros and on-site regulatory inspections. More detailed requirements apply to the use of informants; in exceptional cases, individuals aged 16 and older may be deployed to uncover the most severe threats.
Parliamentary and data protection oversight is consolidated in a new Independent Control Council. This council must approve particularly invasive measures such as long-term undercover operations or residence surveillance in advance. This is intended to subject the expanded powers to independent review.
Source: www.it-daily.net · Published 5 July 2026
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