Espionage activities, cyber attacks, influence campaigns by foreign powers: According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Ministry of the Interior, spies and saboteurs are at work in Germany.
According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany is currently the focus of spies and saboteurs.
“Today, we estimate the level of espionage against Germany to be at least as high as it was during the Cold War – if not significantly higher,” said the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, at a symposium in Berlin organized by his agency.
It is to be expected that “in a world of open arms dealings and drastic sanctions, the inhibition threshold for espionage, sabotage and illegitimate influence will continue to fall,” said the head of the domestic intelligence service. The indicators for a new systemic competition between democracies and authoritarian states are unmistakable.
Interior Minister Faeser: “The threat is real”
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said: “The threat to our security from the new war in Europe is real.” This applies to espionage activities and cyber attacks as well as to “influence campaigns by foreign powers that are intended to destabilize our democracy through propaganda, lies and targeted disinformation”.
During the corona pandemic, Russia and China in particular spread disinformation and propaganda in Germany, said the minister. Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been trying to solidify the narrative of an alleged “Russophobia” in the West – also with the aim of influencing the Russian-speaking population in Germany.
