Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Two draft laws aim to fight fire with fire.
In December of 2025, Russia attacked Poland’s power grid in a series of cyber attacks.
The the time, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski told RMF24, that “this was the most severe attack on our energy infrastructure, aimed at cutting off electricity to citizens at the end of December”.
Russian and pro-Russian hackers have been increasingly active the last couple of years, and the targets are often NATO countries.
The cyber attacks do not trigger Article 5 of NATO, because it is not a direct attack. Instead, it is described as part of the Russian “hybrid warfare”.
But Germany has had enough of Russian cyver activities, and now the German lawmakers seems to be preparing to fight fire with fire.
Two drafts on the table
POLITICO reported on February 9, 2026, that German officials are preparing two draft pieces of legislation aimed at increasing its options regarding intelligence and cybersecurity.
According to the outlet, one of the drafts aims at allowing the German intelligence services to conduct cyber operations abroad.
The other draft will give the security services more possibilites to fight back against hybrid threats.
Europe under constant attack
On December 18, 2025, AP reported that western officials had linked at least 145 incidents of sabotage in Europe to Russia or pro-Russian actors since 2022.
POLITICO cites a recent interview in Süddetusche Zeitung, where the German Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, made it clear, that Germany would “fight back, even abroad”.
Offensice cyber campaigns have also been implemented in the cyber strategies of The Netherlands and France.
Sources: POLITICO, Süddeutsche Zeitung, United24Media, AP
