Germany is considering giving its intelligence services new powers to launch preemptive cyberattacks against Russian drone manufacturers, amid growing concerns over sabotage, espionage, and drone threats, a senior lawmaker said.
Marc Henrichmann, chairman of the Bundestag’s Parliamentary Control Committee, said Germany’s intelligence agencies need to move beyond simply gathering information and be able to disrupt threats before they reach German territory.
“We really have to enable our services to paralyze and turn off the attack drone in Russia or the factory that manufactures it, before it is directed against the German airport or against the safety of life and limb of people in Germany,” Henrichmann said in an interview with WELT TV on Tuesday.
“The best drone is the one that never rises and can threaten Germany,” he added.
Henrichmann said the reform should give Germany’s intelligence agencies the operational capabilities needed to get ahead of the threat, including potentially disrupting hostile cyber operations.
He also argued that Germany needs to pool its intelligence and cyber capabilities more effectively as threats from Russia increase.
Additionally, cyberattacks, sabotage, and espionage or unauthorized drone overflights are “now part of a reality for which we must be better prepared,” Henrichmann told the Rheinische Post.
The German government is expected to discuss reforms to the laws governing the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution on Wednesday.
Henrichmann said the reform should bring Germany’s intelligence services to a level of capability already considered standard among European partners.
The proposal has won support from some opposition lawmakers. Green Party security expert Konstantin von Notz called the reform long overdue but said stronger parliamentary oversight was also needed.
Civil liberties groups, however, have warned that the changes could dramatically expand the powers of German intelligence agencies.
The Society for Civil Rights said the draft could allow expanded use of state trojans, AI-powered analysis, access to private surveillance cameras and “hackbacks,” potentially with insufficient legal safeguards.
Kai Dittmann of the group called for the draft law to be fundamentally revised, arguing that parts of it could violate Germany’s constitution.