Strengthening cyber security

The security and ability to act of the state, economy and society in a modern, highly technological and digitalised industrialised country like Germany are based to a large extent on functioning digital processes and infrastructures. However, the number of cyber attacks by state and non-state players has been increasing for years.

As a leading economic nation in Europe, Germany is increasingly the focus of highly professional cyber attacks with great potential for damage. In view of the geopolitical situation, hybrid threats are also becoming more and more significant. The Federal Government is meeting this security policy challenge by expanding the detection of and defence against cyber attacks and creating an effective, appropriate and legally secure legal basis for this. It has now passed a bill accordingly.

Targeting the attacker

Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt explained in the Federal Ministry of the Interior's press release that "so far, the response to attacks has been to try to redirect the attacks to harmless areas of the network. In future, we will target the attacker, their servers, their software and their strategy."

The draft law to strengthen cyber security will put the security authorities in a position where they will be able to use with legal certainty strategies that they are already technically capable of.

Strengthening cyber security

The aim is to improve reconnaissance and the detection of specific attacks and long-term attack campaigns. In addition, the discovery of specific preparatory actions by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) is to be expanded.

Preventive measures in one's own IT systems alone do not provide sufficient protection against large-scale cyber attacks with high damage potential in particular. The Federal Police forces and the BSI must therefore be given additional opportunities to prevent such cyber attacks in order to avert or minimise serious consequential damage.