Germany’s government is considering a major expansion of powers for its foreign intelligence service that would allow it to carry out sabotage, cyberattacks and other offensive operations overseas, according to a report by Sueddeutsche Zeitung. The proposal would mark a sharp shift for an agency that has historically been restricted to surveillance and intelligence gathering.
The Federal Intelligence Service, known as the BND, was established in 1956 in post-war West Germany and, much like the country’s armed forces, was designed with strict limits on its authority. Until now, its mandate has focused on collecting and analyzing information rather than actively disrupting threats beyond Germany’s borders.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that a draft bill circulating within the Chancellery would significantly broaden the BND’s remit. Under the proposed legislation, the agency would be permitted to conduct cyber operations, acts of sabotage and other covert offensive measures abroad, reflecting growing concerns in Berlin about geopolitical instability and hybrid threats.
The draft law would also expand the BND’s powers at home. According to the report, intelligence officers could be authorized to enter suspects’ homes to covertly install spyware on computers and other electronic devices. The proposal would further widen the use of facial recognition technology and allow more extensive collection of data related to vehicle movements and travel routes.
Use of the new powers would be subject to multiple layers of oversight. Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the legislation would require Germany’s recently established National Security Council to determine that a “systematic threat” exists before any offensive action could be taken. A parliamentary committee overseeing intelligence services would then need to approve such measures by a two-thirds majority.
A government spokesperson told the newspaper that officials are “working intensively together in a preliminary consultation” to move the proposal forward, signaling that discussions are still ongoing and no final decision has been made.
The reported plans come amid broader debates in Germany over the scope of state surveillance and intelligence authority. Earlier this year, the BND was granted expanded powers to monitor the opposition Alternative for Germany party after it was officially designated an extremist organization following strong electoral gains. That move drew criticism from senior officials in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who described it as an attack on free speech.
If adopted, the proposed legislation would represent one of the most far-reaching changes to Germany’s intelligence framework in decades, underscoring how Berlin is reassessing the balance between civil liberties and security as it confronts what officials describe as increasingly complex and aggressive threats.
