At a glance: A new center pools operational forces from police, intelligence services and authorities to combat hybrid-attacking actors – currently primarily Russia – through coordinated countermeasures.
Germany has established a Joint Defense Center (GAZ Hybrid) in which security authorities will systematically exchange information on hybrid attacks in the future. The focus is on rapid coordination rather than fragmented individual defense efforts.
Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has opened the Joint Center of the Federal Government and States for Defense Against Hybrid Threats (GAZ Hybrid). The center brings together officials from police authorities, intelligence services and other authorities who will regularly exchange findings on imminent and acute hybrid attacks and, if necessary, rapidly coordinate countermeasures. The guiding principle is “coordination instead of jurisdictional disputes”.
The participating authorities include the constitutional protection offices of the federal government and states, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), state criminal police offices, the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD), the Federal Customs Administration, the Federal Prosecutor General and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees may appoint a representative; additional entities such as the Armed Forces can be consulted on a case-by-case basis.
Hybrid warfare is understood as a combination of military, economic, intelligence and propaganda means. This includes state-directed cyberattacks, espionage, sabotage, disinformation and influencing public opinion, such as before elections. According to the assessment of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Russia currently carries out the largest activities in this field, combining analog operations with cyberattacks and employing various actors ranging from intelligence officers to criminal groups. While suspected Chinese agents were discovered in Germany in recent years, the Russian threat is currently dominant.
Dobrindt simultaneously announced a forthcoming cabinet decision on expanded powers for the BND and constitutional protection authorities. German intelligence services should be developed into full “intelligence agencies”, for which additional powers in the online domain and the possibility of active defense would be necessary.
Source: www.it-daily.net · Published 16 June 2026
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