Russia's hybrid war: Germany steps up its defences

When do we call it a "war"? How does "war" begin? Especially nowadays, in the digital age of cyberattacks?

"If a German corvette ship is attacked and sunk by a Russian submarine, you would call that war," Sönke Marahrens, a colonel in the German Armed Forces and a military strategist, said at a recent meeting of German security forces. "But what if metal shavings were thrown into the ship's gears and it is then no longer operational: Is that war?"

Marahrens is an expert on hybrid threats. At the autumn conference of the German National Criminal Police Office (BKA), he discussed future challenges with German and international security experts in Wiesbaden.




Marahrens' example of sabotage affecting the operational capability of a German warship is a real incident which occurred in January on the corvette Emden, shortly before its delivery to the German navy.

Europe is experiencing a steady increase in hybrid attacks. Military personnel, police officers, politicians and scientists have warned that the situation is serious.

"We are experiencing cyberattacks, the circumvention of sanctions and arson attacks on a scale we have never seen before," said Silke Willems of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency.

Russia relying on cost-effective agents

Identifying the perpetrators is extremely difficult. For the police and intelligence services, it's often not clear whether they're dealing with a Russian attack, a criminal act or just a case of dilapidated infrastructure breaking down.

Comparing it to similar incidents usually provides a clearer picture. Russia is deliberately operating in a gray area, investigators say, which complicates the response of the affected countries.

According to security authorities, Russia is increasingly relying on cost-effective operations. "This is now being carried out by so-called 'low-level agents,'" Holger Münch, head of the National Criminal Police Office, told DW. These individuals, Münch explained, often don't even know who is hiring them, and they are willing to carry out attacks for a relatively small amount of money.

The perpetrators are mostly young men who already have a criminal record, many of whom have immigrated to Germany from the former Soviet Union. They are often recruited, for example, via the Russian social media platform Telegram, Münch explained.

Germany ready to fight back

The Criminal Police Office has significantly expanded its capabilities to combat cyberattacks, according to Münch. Even if the criminals were to rent hundreds or thousands of servers all over the world, the BKA could disable them, he said.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has vowed that Germany will intensify its response to the attacks. "Anyone who attacks us in cyberspace should be aware: We want to and we will defend ourselves in the future! We can also disrupt and destroy," Dobrindt said.

In the fight against hybrid threats, the German government decided this week that in addition to the Federal Police, the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, will also be authorized to shoot down drones within Germany. The police, in turn, plan to establish additional drone units to defend against attacks.But it's not just Russian drones, incendiary devices and disinformation that are worrying politicians and security experts: More and more people in Germany are becoming increasingly distrustful of state institutions, a huge challenge.

Fake news and lies about democratic institutions and elected officials — all fueled by complex, large-scale Russian disinformation campaigns — aim to destabilize Germany and other democratic countries through hybrid warfare, according to Germany's security authorities.

To ensure Germany remains resilient against these attacks, military strategist and Colonel Sönke Marahrens said hybrid warfare must be accepted as a challenge for society as a whole.

But it's not just Russian drones, incendiary devices and disinformation that are worrying politicians and security experts: More and more people in Germany are becoming increasingly distrustful of state institutions, a huge challenge.

Fake news and lies about democratic institutions and elected officials — all fueled by complex, large-scale Russian disinformation campaigns — aim to destabilize Germany and other democratic countries through hybrid warfare, according to Germany's security authorities.

To ensure Germany remains resilient against these attacks, military strategist and Colonel Sönke Marahrens said hybrid warfare must be accepted as a challenge for society as a whole.