Germany to field 130 agents against cyber spies, faces staff shortage
The German Federal Intelligence Agency (BND) has formed a new unit to defend federal bodies and national industry from online espionage. But it finds it difficult to fill all 130 new positions.
BND chief Gerhard Schindler has briefed a small number of MPs about the plan last week and has received an approval, reports the magazine Der Spiegel.
The agency is particularly concerned with hacker attacks from China and, to a lesser extent, from Russia, the report says. Schindler estimates that German federal government agencies endure three to five such attacks daily. Germany’s top spy says foreign hackers are currently only after information, but have the potential to damage industry, infrastructure, communications and government processes. The new counter-cyber espionage team is meant to mitigate that vulnerability.
