Decoding the Debate

These days it does not take very long for the “cyber” prefix to be dropped into any discussion on foreign policy or national security in Berlin: cyber sabotage to shut down the energy system, cyber operations to influence elections, or cyber espionage to steal secrets and intellectual property―all examples given to show that future risks to our security will emanate from cyber space.

The urgent need for strategic responses has captured Berlin’s policy circles. Endorsing “hack-backs,” Germany’s interior minister Thomas de Maizière told German media last spring that police officers should not only wear body armor but also carry guns. This is more than mere rhetoric. The interior ministry is currently building a controversial new agency that is supposed to provide hacking capabilities to domestic security agencies. Ministry officials have also warned they may need to amend the constitution to hit back at hackers targeting private companies. (weiterlesen/continue reading)