German Parliament Approves Sweeping New Powers for Intelligence Agencies

Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, has approved legislation giving the country's intelligence agencies sweeping new powers to hack and disrupt adversaries under specified conditions, according to Al Jazeera. The bill passed by 308 votes to 190, with 71 abstentions.

The governing Christian Democrats and Social Democrats backed the reform. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Die Linke (The Left) opposed it.

The reform moves two agencies beyond gathering and analysing information. The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) would also be able to actively disrupt certain threats.

Under the new framework, the BfV can take technical measures against serious threats. One example given is deleting stolen information from an attacker's server. The BND can intervene against threats abroad, including by disrupting servers used by state-backed hackers.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the legislation as a "reform of the century."

The debate over these powers follows a case from the summer. In August 2026, German authorities found an explosive-laden drone near a cargo plane belonging to Ukrainian firm Antonov Airlines at Leipzig-Halle airport. Berlin formally accused Russia of attempting an attack there. Dobrindt said intelligence had determined the drone was consistent with Russian technology.

Germany then closed the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House cultural centre in Berlin. Moscow responded by ordering the closure of a German consulate in St. Petersburg and of the Goethe-Institut, Germany's cultural network abroad.