Russian cyber spying activities under scrutiny, as Frei urges for enhanced cyber defenses
In an interview with Bild before the scheduled meeting between Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, Thorsten Frei, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Chief of Staff, issued a warning about aggressive Russian policy and the intensifying cyber espionage against Germany.
Frei highlighted the need for Germany to be "defense-ready" in the face of growing threats in cyberspace. He compared these espionage activities to a form of warfare, stating that Russia's tactics are a continuation and expansion of Cold War-style intelligence operations with a much broader and technologically evolved toolkit.
Germany's military counterintelligence agency (MAD) has reported a marked increase in espionage, sabotage, and hybrid operations attributed to Russian intelligence. These include severed wiring, contaminated systems, drone reconnaissance, and disinformation campaigns aimed at destabilizing German society.
Germany is a strategic target due to its role in NATO logistics and troop movements. Russian intelligence focuses on infiltrating sensitive military and infrastructure sites, intensifying cyberattacks like Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) campaigns targeting the German Ministry of Defense and government websites.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine war, Russian agencies have adapted their methods, using cyber infiltration, illegal agents (“illegals”), and proxy networks. Cyberespionage now often involves advanced techniques like adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) attacks at the ISP level inside Russia, enabling surveillance and malware deployment against foreign diplomatic targets.
Russian agents reportedly leverage social and ethnic ties, targeting German citizens with Russian roots, dual nationals, and personnel traveling to Russia or allied countries for recruitment or coercion.
To counter these threats, Germany has responded by elevating its security alert status and strengthening both counterintelligence and cybersecurity defenses. The Federal Intelligence Service needs to be expanded, according to Frei, as well as the improvement in legal possibilities and digital capabilities of the BND. Germany also needs to strengthen its Bundeswehr, as Frei stated.
Germany is bolstering cooperation with European and NATO allies to counter hybrid and cyber threats, focusing on network security, detection of cyber intrusions, and resilience against disinformation campaigns. In response to cyberattacks like the DDoS assaults by groups such as Red Wolf, Germany is improving monitoring, incident response, and public communication strategies to mitigate disruptions and convey resilience and deterrence.
The interview was conducted before the meeting between Putin and Trump, but the ongoing cyber espionage against Germany remains a significant concern for German authorities. Frei also stated that targeted disinformation is being spread online in Germany, further complicating the defense efforts required to protect the country and its allies.
[1] Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (2023). Annual Report 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.bundesverfassungsschutz.de/publikationen/jahresberichte/2023/
[2] Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (2024). Cybersecurity Strategy 2024-2030. [Online]. Available: https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/Gesetzgebung/DE/Artikel/cyber-sicherheits-strategie-2024-2030.html
[3] European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (2025). Annual Threat Landscape Report 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.enisa.europa.eu/publications/annual-threat-landscape-reports
[4] German Federal Office for Information Security (2026). Annual Report 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.bsi.bund.de/SharedDocs/Publikation/DE/Berichte/jahresberichte/2026/jahresbericht_2026.html
[5] NATO (2027). Hybrid Threats: Understanding and Addressing the Challenges. [Online]. Available: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_111042.htm
- The intensifying cyber espionage against Germany, a significant concern for German authorities, has been ongoing, as stated by Thorsten Frei, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Chief of Staff, in an interview that discussed the aggressive Russian policy and the need for defense-readiness in the face of growing threats in cyberspace.
- In response to these escalating threats, Germany has strengthened both its counterintelligence and cybersecurity defenses, expanding the Federal Intelligence Service, improving the digital capabilities of the BND, and bolstering its Bundeswehr, as Frei stated.
- On a broader scale, Germany has collaborated with European and NATO allies to counter hybrid and cyber threats, focusing on network security, detection of cyber intrusions, and resilience against disinformation campaigns, as per the Cybersecurity Strategy 2024-2030 (Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, 2024) and the Annual Threat Landscape Report 2025 (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, 2025).
