Hasso-Plattner-Institut
 

Werner Sczesny

At the 6th Potsdam Conference on National Cyber Security, Major General Werner Sczesny, Vice President of the Federal Intelligence Service, describes how his agency is dealing with the rapid changes in the cyber world. In particular, he said, the agency is focusing on exchanges with IT security companies and foreign intelligence services.

At the same time, the differences between the intelligence services of democratic and autocratic states are becoming more pronounced. According to Sczesny, many nations have begun to expand their cyber operations units in "clearly six-figure dimensions" - "we are surrounded," says the Major General. A "golden age" has dawned for foreign intelligence services, which run largely without government regulation.  According to Sczesny, faced with few consequences, the inhibition thresholds for cyber operations have dropped significantly.

In contrast, the BND draws its strength from social acceptance and grows on a  foundation of trust. According to Sczesny, this is the only way that "plurality can lead to defensibility. The ongoing legal and ethical discussions have given the intelligence service a completely different, and in some cases entirely new, scope, which Sczesny describes with the academic concepts of "dynamic capabilities" through "communities of practice.