The heads of German secret services issued a number of warnings at an annual public hearing at the Bundestag’s parliamentary control committee in Berlin on Monday. Because the threat situation is becoming increasingly digital, the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BFV) and the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) want more respective competencies.
Advertisement
Intelligence service chiefs paint a grim picture of the situation: BND chief Bruno Kahl says these are difficult times in terms of security policy. He is especially worried about Russia. “The Kremlin views the Federal Republic of Germany as an enemy,” the BND chairman said. “Whether we like it or not, we are in direct confrontation with Russia.”
Russian “Spearhead”
As a “pioneer in hybrid warfare,” Russian secret services will work with all available means to limit the West’s ability to act – including, in particular, cyberattacks. The BND chairman warned that Putin would continue to test the West’s “red lines” in the future and the confrontation would continue to escalate.
Given the situation, control of intelligence services should not come at the expense of the services’ ability to work, Kahl warned parliamentary inspectors and called for “operational independence.”
Traffic Light seeks to change the legal framework for intelligence services. To date, the Home Ministry has not submitted any draft for the second phase of the amendment. Data protection supervision of the secret services is to be formally transferred from the Federal Data Protection Commissioner to the Independent Control Council for Intelligence Services.
Major crises will have a full impact on the security situation in Germany, stressed Thomas Haldenwang, President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). The storm that the services had previously warned about has now become a “real storm” moving from east to west. The activities of Russian intelligence services show that Germany is at the center of Russia’s hybrid war against Western democracies.
“Russia is using its entire toolbox to do this: from influencing domestic political discussions in Germany to cyber attacks against critical infrastructure and sabotage,” Haldenwang said. Coordination of the many people involved in IT security incidents is working better now: “We all understand.”
According to Haldenwang’s report, when it comes to espionage and subversion, Russia is increasingly relying on criminals as proxies – for example in drone operations like Brunsbüttel. “You can equip a drone with cameras, but you can also equip it with explosives.” MAD Ukraine, which is responsible for the Bundeswehr, is also concerned about the use of drones in the war.
promotion on the internet
Since its inception, the hearing has also included asking the service chiefs what additional powers they would need. BFV President Haldenwang pointed out that propaganda on the Internet remains a major challenge for terrorist groups, especially when it comes to self-radicalization. As the crisis in the Middle East continues to escalate, “sometimes disturbing images from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip” are being used for propaganda purposes.
The BFV president demanded that services should therefore be allowed to take place on Internet platforms so that radicalized individual perpetrators could be identified. Their service wants to use more artificial intelligence (AI) and requires software and hardware. With additional resources, it is important not to jeopardize population confidence. Therefore, there must be control on powers, but not in such a way that the processes are not hindered.
MAD also wants to expand its cyber capabilities. If you want to “learn something about people,” the Internet is the preferred method, said Martina Rosenberg, head of the Federal Office of the Military Counterintelligence Service (BAMAD). President Bruno Kahl pointed out that the BND is already using AI for its tasks.
The Constitution Protection Office is responsible for disinformation campaigns by foreign states in Germany. There are particular challenges here, said Thomas Haldenwang. He cited the Humshakal campaign on Facebook as an example. It is a problem that traditional media no longer reaches certain segments of the population – particularly young people and children, who primarily receive information in their social media bubbles.
Even though the upcoming federal election will certainly be attacked: the voting process itself is relatively secure due to the paper method, Haldenwang stressed. He believes that the election will be relatively safe overall. Maneuvers against parties, such as the recent one against the CDU, must be taken seriously. Haldenwang said there is no concrete evidence yet that the data stolen from the parties is being misused, but it is too early to give the all-clear.
Without leftists, BSW and AfD
Since 2017, the Parliamentary Control Board meets publicly with the heads of the intelligence services once a year. The AfD, the Left and the coalition Sahra Wagenknecht currently have no members on the committee. The Bundestag did not elect any AfD representative to the committee; André Hahn, the originally elected left-wing MP, is no longer invited to committee meetings because the Left lost its parliamentary group status due to the split from the BSW.
(vbr)
