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Berlin Readies Legislation Authorizing More Aggressive Stance in Cyberspace
Germany wants to drastically step up defenses against cyberattacks from foes such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, and it’s looking to key ally Israel for lessons and cooperation.
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German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt traveled to Tel Aviv earlier this month to sign a cyber defense cooperation agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We are keenly interested in learning from Israel’s experience building its cyber dome,” Dobrindt said in a statement, referring to Israel’s fairly new cyber defense system, which he saw demonstrated during his visit.
Israel has long had a strong reputation in the cybersecurity realm, much of which can be attributed to military conscription fueling the Israel Defense Forces’ fabled Unit 8200, a counterpart to the U.S. National Security Agency. Israeli cybersecurity success stories such as Wiz and Check Point were founded by veterans of the division. But Israel’s cybersecurity chops are also born of necessity – according to Israeli intelligence officials, 3.5% of global cyberattacks last year targeted the country.
Israel’s Cyber Dome was largely developed in the aftermath of the October 2023 attack by Gazan militants on Israeli territory, although it was conceived beforehand. Steered by the Israel National Cyber Directorate, it is essentially a centralized and partly automated threat-detection tool that uses artificial intelligence to wrangle data flowing from multiple sources (see: Hamas Isn’t Fighting a Cyberwar).
The name is a nod to Israel’s highly-regarded Iron Dome missile defense system, which has been operational for around 15 years now. Both “domes” saw a lot of action during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel last June – the INCD claimed the Cyber Dome successfully thwarted dozens of cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure during the war, though it didn’t stop the Iranians hacking into street cameras as part of intelligence-gathering and kinetic attacks on Israeli buildings.
“Israel has implemented its version of a Cyber Dome and has experience in running and developing it, along with its specialized industrial cyber defense and cyber offensive ecosystem,” said Sven Herpig, cybersecurity policy and resilience lead at the Berlin-based tech think tank Interface. He said it was likely that Germany would particularly benefit from Israel’s technical expertise in developing its Cyber Dome, as well as its offensive ecosystem.
As things stand, it is illegal in Germany for the Federal Intelligence Service to hack back against and destroy the foreign infrastructure of those who launch cyberattacks against Germany. The government is preparing legislation to change this and other aspects of the BND’s remit, although the draft law is likely to prove extremely controversial. Human rights groups have already reacted angrily to reports that the agency will be allowed to collect and store the contents of people’s online activities.
Legal uncertainty aside, “how much Germany can actually learn and benefit from the Israeli [Cyber Dome] system and [offensive] ecosystem is unclear at the moment,” Herpig said.
Both countries are supposed to benefit from the collaboration, jointly developing a new generation of the Cyber Dome. They will also develop a joint “AI and Cyber Innovation” center, working on “cybersecurity in the areas of connected driving and energy infrastructure protection.”
Germans and Israelis will also work together on drone detection and defense. Israel has had plenty of experience facing drone attacks over recent years – its defense ministry touted a technological breakthrough on that front last month – but Germany is also increasingly concerned about drones. It registered more than 1,000 suspicious drone flights in 2025 and believes many, if not most, were Russia’s handiwork. Drones were sighted over military installations and caused disruptions at airports in Berlin and Munich (see: Russian Disinformation Followed Drone Incursion of Poland).
When inking the cyber defense cooperation agreement this month, Netanyahu framed it as an extension of existing cooperation over missile defense. Germany last month expanded its contract for purchasing Israel’s Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile defense system, which Israel recently used against incoming Iranian and Houthi missiles, and which it claims is even capable of taking out satellites. The move took the deal’s value to around $6.5 billion, making it Israel’s largest military export contract yet.