Counter-intelligence

The world of espionage is mysterious. Foreign intelligence services conduct their activities in secret. Their aim is to gather sensitive information. However, they are also involved in state terrorism, carry out influence and disinformation operations, commit acts of sabotage or use their expertise to acquire components and know-how for the production of weapons of mass destruction. The German domestic intelligence services are tasked with investigating and preventing all illegitimate and illegal activities by foreign states and their intelligence services in and against Germany.

All foreign governments rely on information on other countries to develop their policies, respond to global crises or to advance their own global political ambitions. For this, diplomats publicly collect available information to brief their governments about current affairs and long-term developments as well as to promote relations between their home countries and their host country.

However, a number of governments are not content with gathering openly available information. They are willing to obtain foreign information through illegitimate methods. This means engaging in espionage with help from their intelligence services.

Many countries have diplomatic and consular representations in Germany, some of which house "legal residencies". This term refers to bases used by foreign intelligence services in host countries. They are under cover stations, which can be situated in one of their own countries' official (e.g. embassy, consulate general) or semi-official (e.g. press agency, airline) missions.

Intelligence officers (agents) there work under the guise of being diplomats or journalists and engage in overt or covert information gathering activities or provide support for intelligence operations. Moreover, many intelligence services run operations directly from headquarters in their home countries. Foreign intelligence services carry out activities in and against Germany using covert and clandestine methods. They act on behalf of and under the control of their respective governments.

Their governments' political priorities determine the focus of the intelligence services' work. Activities can cover various fields: They can include covert activities to gather information and exert illegitimate influence, the illegal acquisition of weapons and technologies (called "proliferation") as well as sabotage and terrorism and represent a considerable challenge to the German domestic intelligence services. In addition, the scope for action of foreign intelligence services has expanded significantly due to technological developments and a growing digitisation.

Fields of action

Intelligence services obtain a large part of information from open sources. For this, they regularly analyse media and specialised publications in target countries.

A further important resource for espionage activities are human sources. Foreign intel-ligence services have a special interest in persons, who seem suitable as long term sources of information. Important criteria when choosing prospective targets are, for instance, access to valuable information and people of influence or career prospects. Therefore, foreign intelligence services often focus on people employed in the parliamentary sector, ministries, public authorities and companies as well as in research and science, but also members of the armed forces.

Nowadays, espionage and influence operations as well as foreign intelligence services' recruitment efforts of human sources take place both in the real world and virtually. Methods of obtaining information and establishing contacts in the real world are visits to trade fairs and the attendance of public events, conferences and panel discussions. These events provide foreign intelligence services not only valuable information on specific issues, but also the opportunity to extend their network of contacts, which may further used to gather information without officially recruiting sources. In the virtual world, social media plays an important role because a large amount of personal data can freely be collected, which in turn can be used for operational purposes.

Influence and disinformation

In addition to classic espionage, the past few years have seen a vast increase of foreign influence activities. By means of disinformation and propaganda, other states – with the help of their intelligence services – try to influence public opinion as well as exert pressure on decision-makers in politics, business and science. Their aim is to lastingly damage public trust in the rule of law, state institutions and representatives as well as erode trust in independent media. At the same time, foreign actors are eager to extend their influence possibilities further. Influence and disinformation activities aim to sow confusion and doubt by creating or reinforcing social fault lines or promote an alleged superiority of a foreign actors' own political model.

Risk factors in an interconnected world

The interconnected world we live in, provides a heightened importance to espionage of telecommunications for foreign intelligence services. Conversations via telecommunications networks do not provide sufficient protection against unwanted eavesdropping. It must be assumed that foreign intelligence services invest considerable efforts to intercept and record the content of telecommunications. Detection and attribution is often almost impossible. This is further highlighted by the fact that in Germany telecommunications are partly routed through servers or internet exchange points hosted abroad.

There is also a risk of espionage regarding all wireless communications via, for instance, wifi and bluetooth connections. Furthermore, data stored on interconnected devices constitute a further risk and may provide a focus of espionage activities. In areas where sensitive information is exchanged, for example in the close environment of companies or in the government district of the federal German capital Berlin, there is a true risk of communications interception and of illicit data exfiltration that needs to be taken into consideration.

The role of the German domestic intelligence services

Espionage is a threat to German interests. For instance, if confidential diplomatic negotiating positions are disclosed as a result of foreign intelligence operations, it can undermine German foreign policy. This is also the case when foreign powers exert undue influence on democratic opinion-forming and decision-making processes. Further breaches of sovereignty include spying on and infiltrating foreign opposition groups or attacks against dissidents by foreign intelligence services in Germany. Furthermore, the unwanted loss of know-how through espionage can cause immense damage. Illegitimate activities by foreign states are detrimental to Germany's national sovereignty. Uncovering and preventing such activities is one of the core tasks of the German domestic intelligence services.

The importance of cooperation

For the counter-intelligence department of the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), cooperation with a variety of national and international bodies is of great importance.

At national level, BfV's counter-intelligence department works closely with other agencies: the domestic intelligence services of the federal states (LfV), the German foreign intelligence service (BND), the Federal Office of Military Counter-Intelligence (BAMAD), the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Federal Public Prosecutor (GBA) as well as other agencies of various ministries. Moreover, BfV regularly exchanges information as required at European and international level. This leads to new intelligence and contributes to BfV's flexible response and adaptation to security risks.

Future challenges

Foreign intelligence services will continue to apply all methods against Germany. Foreign actors will also pursue their hidden agenda to exert influence. The illegal acquisition of sensitive products and technologies will remain important for some states.

The everchanging (global) political circumstances, new alliances and rivalries and technological developments pose new challenges to BfV's counter-intelligence department. This requires a circumspect and proactive approach.