Head of Germany’s domestic intelligence service says espionage levels are now as high as during the Cold War, if not higher
BERLIN — The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence service said Thursday that levels of espionage were as high as during the Cold War, if not higher.
Thomas Haldenwang, chairman of intelligence agency BfV, also warned of the heightened risk of sabotage amid war in Ukraine. Germany has denounced a number of Russian spies operating in the country in recent years.
“Today we rate the level of espionage against Germany at least at Cold War level – if not significantly higher,” Haldenwang said at an event in Berlin.
He predicted that “in a world of open hostilities and drastic sanctions, the inhibition threshold for espionage, sabotage and improper influence will continue to drop”.
The BfV has stepped up its monitoring of the activities of extremist groups and individuals seeking to challenge state legitimacy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Haldenwang said the risk posed by such moves is heightened by foreign powers seeking to promote anti-government propaganda through disinformation.
Germany’s top security official, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of stoking the idea of ”Russophobia” in the West since the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
ABC News