What objectives do foreign intelligence services pursue?

Intelligence services act on behalf of and under the control of their respective governments. The objectives pursued by an intelligence service will thus depend on the government's political priorities.

While the services strive to obtain information relating to various fields, a major focus of intelligence collection is on politics, economy, science and military. In these fields, foreign intelligence services try to collect sensitive information, which they may use to know the Federal Republic's stance prior to international negotiations, to foresee future economic decisions, to learn about current research results or to obtain intelligence on the military capabilities of the Federal Armed Forces and their allies.

The field of economy is particularly prone to arouse some intelligence services' interest in specific information such as technical expertise or individual products offered by a company. The illegal transfer of knowledge may help to save time and development costs and to achieve a competitive advantage. Some foreign intelligence services even have the statutory task to support their respective economies using such activities. Another goal foreign states try to attain is to identify at an early stage any developments in Germany that relate to economic strategy and technological policy.

In addition to espionage in the real world and in cyber space, foreign intelligence services also engage in disinformation or influencing activities and in sabotage. To exert their influence, they co-operate with other national entities of their home countries and with non-governmental organisations operating in Germany, the latter having varying degrees of attachment to their countries of origin.

Another priority of foreign intelligence services is to spy on members of the opposition. Some countries try to monitor and spy on their nationals living in Germany, who are either opposed to their governments back home, or who are considered a threat for other reasons.

Finally, BfV has also discovered activities of foreign intelligence services preparing sabotage in Germany. Such activities particularly target critical infrastructures in power and water supply.