Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Germany has been hit hard by the so-called hybrid war, which consists of a combination of military and intelligence actions, often accompanied by misleading propaganda. The classic methods are sabotage, espionage and disinformation, which aim to sow uncertainty among the population.
An early warning system
Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) is the official name of the German secret service. Your job is to detect threats in time to prevent them. In response to hybrid warfare, BfV President Sinan Selen is calling for the secret services to be given more powers.
“We have communication that we can no longer decipher in some cases. We have actors who act under pseudonyms,” said Selen at a symposium on December 8, 2025 in Berlin. “The secret service must be able to penetrate these areas,” he emphasized.
Berlin promises support
In order to achieve this goal, the BfV boss is committed to changing security laws. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has already announced reforms. Support also comes from the Foreign Ministry. There, Philipp Wolff coordinates the three main organizations that carry out secret service tasks: the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Military Intelligence Service (MAD).
Wolff believes it is necessary to increase online surveillance and the storage of IP addresses. She also advocates making it easier for security authorities to exchange personal data. But it is not certain whether all this will be possible. In the past, opposition parties and civil society organizations have almost always lodged complaints with the Federal Constitutional Court against the stricter laws, often successfully.
However, Sinan Selen cited France and the Netherlands as positive examples in the European Union, as these countries have fewer legal restrictions on monitoring suspicious people and less stringent data protection.
Reduce dependence on the USA
After the publication of US President Donald Trump’s new security strategy, it is difficult to estimate what intelligence cooperation with the USA will look like in the future, emphasized the BfV president. “I would not conclude from this strategy that we are going to break with the United States,” Selen said. “I don’t think our partners will break up with us either,” he added.
The head of the German secret service emphasized the need to continually review and develop alliances. He also insisted that Europe must become more independent from the United States.
For example, many countries use the controversial US software Palantir to monitor and evaluate digital communications. Selen supported a national alternative: “We have industries, we have companies that can do something like that.” They should be given more support, he said.
The intelligence coordinator Wolff, for his part, emphasized the effectiveness of the German security authorities. “The Russians take us seriously,” he said. Wolff also emphasized the challenge of being confronted with a country that does not follow the rules.
Critical infrastructure at risk
At the symposium, military expert at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich, Carlo Masala, said that Russia’s strategy towards NATO member states is becoming “increasingly bold.”
In his opinion, Germany is a particularly attractive target for Russia: “We are the central axis,” he said, referring to the central location in Europe and the strategic importance within NATO. For this reason, experts like Masala suspect that Russia is behind the increase in acts of sabotage on railways, airports, and water and electricity supplies.
(vt/ms)
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