BERLIN

Germany plans to develop a "Cyber Dome" to counter digital threats more effectively, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Dobrindt said the Cyber Dome will be a partially automated system that detects, analyzes, and responds to cyberattacks.

"Digital security is central to national sovereignty," the minister said. "The Cyber Dome will provide strong protection against cyberattacks. Defending Germany is a shared responsibility for the state, businesses, and society."

As part of plans to strengthen Germany's cyber defense, the minister said Berlin will sign an agreement with Israel this year to deepen cooperation on knowledge sharing, research, and development of cybersecurity measures.

"We will strengthen the powers of German authorities in cyber defense so serious attacks can be actively prevented, mitigated, or stopped," Dobrindt said. He added that legal work is underway to give authorities the power to target cyberattackers abroad.

"We will enable German security authorities to take down, attack, disrupt, and destroy the digital infrastructure of attackers—even if the attackers and their infrastructure are located outside of Germany," he said. "The current legal framework is insufficient to do that. We will create the necessary framework."

Speaking at the same news conference, Claudia Plattner, president of the national cybersecurity authority (BSI), said that despite progress in cybersecurity, German government institutions, businesses, and infrastructure remain targets of both criminal groups and state actors.

“Ransomware attacks remain the greatest threat. These attacks encrypt or steal data and then use it to extort money from victims. This is where we continue to see the greatest damage,” she said, adding that Germany is among the most targeted countries for cyberattacks worldwide.

Plattner also noted that, depending on geopolitical developments, they observe an increase in politically motivated cyberattacks by state actors and attempts at cyber espionage.

“Currently, we are concerned by the activities of four major countries, Russia, China, Iran and North Korea,” she said.