Hybrid sabotage: Interior Ministry plans protective shield after drone incident

Germany’s interior minister is proposing a national “Cyberdome” after an explosive-laden drone was discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport near several Ukrainian cargo planes. Alexander Dobrindt told Bild am Sonntag that the country needs a broad protective shield against further attacks.

The plan would use a dense network of digital sensors to detect and intercept attempted cyberattacks. It would also establish rapidly deployable units in Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Hanover and Cologne. Those units would protect airspace from drones and handle the disposal of drone bombs and other explosives.

Drone defense would no longer rest solely with the federal police. New regulations would allow other authorities and companies operating critical infrastructure to take action. Water utilities, electricity providers and defense companies would be permitted not only to detect drones, but also to counter them.

Dobrindt described the threat in stark terms, saying, “Russia’s hybrid attacks with explosive drones on airports, agents in our cities, cyberattacks on our networks and sabotage of our infrastructure are daily reality. These attacks will increase, but we can defend ourselves and protect ourselves.”

The German government has held Russia responsible for the attempted attack on Aug. 4. The Russian government rejected all accusations. Germany has also announced measures including the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin.

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Russia’s hybrid attacks with explosive drones on airports, agents in our cities, cyberattacks on our networks and sabotage of our infrastructure are daily reality. These attacks will increase, but we can defend ourselves and protect ourselves.