Berlin (dts) - The former president of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Gerhard Schindler, is calling for significantly more competencies for the German intelligence services in view of the increasing espionage attacks from Russia and China. “I always see the opportunity to get better,” he told the “Editorial Network Germany” (Thursday editions).
“And if the successes of our security authorities now give us reason to think about how they can become even better, then I think that’s a good thing.” Schindler added: “We have to concentrate on cracking communication. This concerns communications monitoring. We have a hard time with this in Germany. We have been discussing the issue of minimum storage periods – known as data retention – for years.”
In addition, the Federal Intelligence Service is generally not allowed to record German telephone numbers or email addresses when investigating: “That is a big handicap. A foreign agent only needs to pick up a German cell phone and the BND is out. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the state offices also need the opportunity for strategic communications intelligence domestically. Last but not least, communication can also take place through personal meetings, i.e. through travel. Travel routes are therefore also an important starting point for reconnaissance.” Recognizing patterns can help here: “Knowing who flies to which places and when. Such grid analyzes are almost impossible under our data protection law.”
The ex-BND boss also welcomed the plan to make financial investigations easier for the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. “If you can prove certain financial flows including donors and recipients, then that helps,” he said. “But you can’t overdo the conditions. For an intelligence service like the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, it is important to obtain information in advance of a police investigation. This means: He has to be allowed to work with assumptions and cannot immediately come up with results that can be used in court. If intelligence services have to work according to police law, then they cannot act sensibly.”
Finally, Schindler spoke out in favor of the use of artificial intelligence and, in the case of cyber attacks, the possibility of hackbacks. “Hackbacks are a tool to ward off cyberattacks,” he said. Most recently, Russian espionage attempts from both Russia and China were exposed.
