>There (...) isn't a warm connection between the CCC and the BND in Germany

Fun fact: In the 1990s, the CCC e.V. was declared a terrorist organization by the BND. Also, a lot of members have been sued for Landesverrat (high treason) for disclosing found vulnerabilities and/or doing journalistic work.

For example, the netzpolitik guys have been sued for high treason twice.

Just as a side note on how competent the German state is to use their existing talent to work on issues in cyber security.

> If a hacker collaborates with the BND they do run a risk of many of their peers not wanting to collaborate with them anymore.

Another fun fact: There is no effective witness protection program in Germany. You have to have been attacked almost murdered twice (with legal cases leading to prosecution) before you can apply for the witness protection program.

And they're asking themselves why all the witnesses in high profile cases from Europol/Interpol keep disappearing ...