Electronic surveillance

Germany vows tougher control of spy agency after new revelations

Germany’s justice minister has called for tighter control of the national foreign intelligence agency, after media reported its spies had targeted the embassies of allied countries without the government’s express permission. Heiko Maas told the Rheinische Post newspaper in an interview to be published Friday that a fundamental reform of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) was needed.

Germany’s foreign intelligence agency is already under scrutiny after revelations earlier this year that its officials indirectly helped the U.S. National Security Agency spy on European firms such as defense manufacturer Airbus.