As in the previous year, the security situation in 2024 did not improve, but deteriorated. This created some new challenges for the intelligence services under the OA-IA’s oversight. It also meant that the OA-IA had to be flexible and adapt its audit activities to the circumstances, in some cases redefining its priorities.
The OA-IA was very much concerned in 2024 with the transformation of various agencies, which became necessary as a result of the deteriorating [security] situation. In addition to the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS), the Cyber and Electromagnetic Activities Service (CEA), which has carried out its intelligence activities since 2024 as part of Cyber Command, is also undergoing transformation. Furthermore, the Armed Forces Preventive Protection Service (AFPPS), which is part of the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), is being expanded. Given its mandate from the FIS, this raises the question whether the OA-IA may or must also audit these activities as part of its mandate.
Oversight authorities must not only monitor but also understand technological developments in the field of intelligence. For this reason, the OA-IA has continued to invest in the training of its staff, whether through participation in conferences on current technical issues or through relevant further training. As international meetings with other oversight authorities show, technological developments and the need to adapt to changing circumstances as a result of these developments pose major challenges not only to the OA-IA, but also to other regulators.
In addition to the ongoing and completed audits of the FIS, one audit focused on the CEA and one on the MIS. With regard to the MIS, the OA-IA continued the discussions started in 2023 at management level on its oversight responsibilities vis-à-vis the AFPPS. The corresponding audit listed in the 2024 audit plan had not yet started at the time of writing.