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Germany Wants to Use Spying Software for Private Computers

by kkaefer | August 29, 2007 at 03:40 pm | 371 views | add comment

According to two German daily newspapers, Germany's interior ministry plans police-controlled spying of private computers to combat terrorism. Keyboard movements and password entry could also be monitored.

German minister of interior, Wolfgang Schäuble, demands to perform "online search" on terrorist's computer as a measure against terrorism. However, the technical aspect of an "online search" is completely left out by the German media.

According to a 22-page paper from the interior ministry (a copy of which KSTA obtained), the plan would involve sending e-mails attached with Trojan horse malware to suspected terrorists. The paper said that "sending e-mails under the names of other government authorities" could be employed in justified, exceptional cases.

In fact, it is not at all trivial to get a piece of software onto the computer of a certain person. Computers have security holes, but they are generally closed soon after discovery. Also, operating systems like Linux are generally considered very safe when configured correctly. Additionally, several anti-virus software manufactures have said that they won't cooperate with the German gouvernment in this matter.