German Court Restricts Cops From Spying On PCs
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Germany's High Court has handed down a landmark decision banning police from installing spyware on computers of suspected criminals without their knowledge.
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(InfoWorld) - In the five years since terrorists attacked the U.S., Europe has been the target of extremist attacks, as has India. Bombings in London and Madrid and a recent failed attempt to blow up passenger trains in Germany have prompted a security clampdown never seen on the Continent. Throughout the European Union, governments are grappling with how to guard against terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, Indian IT services companies have beefed up efforts to protect data. The discovery of bombs in two German trains in July pushed up several security measures on the political agenda there. In September, the German government agreed to a new antiterror database, which will be available to authorities across the country and contain information such as a person's religion, travel history, telephone number and Internet data and bank details. It also approved increased use of video surveillance in public areas. These measures reflect a gigantic shift in thinking about privacy in Germany, which has been highly sensitive about data protection and surveillance because of its Nazi history and, more recently, the Stasi secret police in the former communist-run East Germany. The need to tighten security has created demand for new technologies to help authorities combat terrorism. The German subsidiary of IBM Corp., for instance, is working on new technology that will enable computers -- not human beings -- to filter information from the cameras monitoring public areas and other locations. Two German companies have developed a new biometric system for identifying airline passengers. Lufthansa Systems Group GmbH, the IT services arm of German airline Lufthansa AG, and high-security document producer Bundesdruckerei GmbH have developed the SecBoard system. The companies hope that the system, designed to conduct biometric checks on passengers prior to boarding an aircraft, will play a significant role in "trusted passenger" programs planned by the airline industry to increase security. In the U.K., the government is close to activating part of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) of 2000 that deals with encrypted data, one in a set of powers covering electronic surveillance and wiretapping. Authorities say the increased use of encryption is hampering their access to information on suspectsâ computers. RIPA would allow police to demand that a suspect decrypt data or face up to two years in jail. The encryption measure in RIPA has remained dormant since the techniques werenât widely used when the law was passed, according to the U.K. Home Office. Terrorist suspects already face up to five years for failing to decrypt data or provide an encryption key. But critics contend the law, which would apply in more than terrorism-related investigations, gives too much power to law enforcement and has the potential for abuse. High-ranking officials could demand the decryption of data without a court order, and the law binds to secrecy those served with a request. Experts say the law could increase the chance that, if seized, a companyâs mission-critical data could be mishandled. Elsewhere in Europe, heads of state met to discuss 57 antiterrorism measures two weeks after the March 11, 2004 bombings of four crowded commuter trains in Madrid. Among the measures discussed were the surveillance of telecommunications, Internet communications and air transportation. Civil liberties groups accused them of using the fight against terrorism as an excuse to increase police powers. E.U. legislation was slow to follow but, from September 2007, telecom carriers and ISPs (Internet service providers) must keep data on all mobile and fixed-line calls for between six months and two years. From March 2009, they must keep data on VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) calls, Internet connections and e-mail messages. Law enforcement officials will be able to demand the date and time of calls and messages, but not their content, and identifying information of the calling or sending and receiving parties. In India, the Sept. 11 attacks were not a watershed event because the country experienced frequent attacks by Kashmiri separatist groups demanding independence. Even before Sept. 11, some of the large Indian IT services companies had hardened data centers supporting their offshore businesses, said T. R. Madan Mohan, an analyst at Frost & Sullivan Inc. After Web sites of a ministry of the Indian government and an Indian atomic energy agency were hacked, and anti-India messages posted on these sites, Indian businesses showed increased concern about the need for intrusion detection and related security measures, he added. Infosys Technologies Ltd., Indiaâs second largest outsourcer, already had disaster recovery and business continuity plans in place before Sept. 11, said a spokeswoman for the company in Bangalore. However, those attacks brought the threat of terrorism into sharp focus for Indiaâs export-oriented industries, such as software outsourcing, because U.S. and European customers began worrying about the preparedness of their Indian suppliers for terrorist attacks. (Reported and written by John Blau in Dusseldorf, Germany; Peter Sayer in Paris; Jeremy Kirk in London; and John Ribeiro in Bangalore, India, and assembled by Grant Gross in Washington, D.C.)
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(InfoWorld) - In a crackdown on Internet child pornography, German police detected several servers running a copy of Tor, a software designed to anonymize Internet usage. "We seized or blocked an undisclosed number of servers during a raid, which is still underway," Jens Gruhl, a spokesman for the public prosecutors office of Konstanz, Germany, said Monday. "A few of these computers had installed copies of Tor." Users of Tor software in the country, worried about an unexpected visit by the police, have decried the move in a flurry of blogs. "This situation is disturbing, really disturbing," wrote Alexander Janssen, from DÃ¼sseldorf, Germany,Â in a blog post. "I run a Tor server myself and the last thing I want to experience is the police kicking down my door [and] seizing my computer." Gruhl said German crime officials are not specifically searching for servers running Tor but for servers distributing child porn. "That fact that police discovered copies of Tor is coincidental, not intentional." In his blog, Janssen reckoned that the seized servers were configured to be so-called Tor "exit nodes," allowing their IP (Internet Protocol) addresses to show up in the server logfiles in question. Tor was created to defend against traffic analysis, a form of network surveillance that "threatens personal anonymity and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships and state security," according to the Web siteÂ www.tor.eff.org. The software bounces communications around a distributed network of servers, called onion routers, protecting users from Web sites that build profiles of their interests, local eavesdroppers that read data or learn what sites they visit, and even the onion routers themselves.
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German officials on Friday defended a proposal to use "Trojan horse" software to secretly monitor potential terror suspects' hard drives, amid fierce debate over whether the measures violate civil liberties.
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Intel offices in Munich were raided by the European Commission on Tuesday as part of an ongoing antitrust investigation.Confirming the raids, Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said the company fully cooperated with the EC. He declined further comment.The Commission inspected the premises of CPU manufacturers and PC retailers, said Jonathan Todd, spokesman for the EC, declining to comment on which companies were raided.The offices of German consumer electronics vendor Media Markt and DSG International, which runs Dixons in the U.K., were also raided, according to multiple newspaper and wire service reports.The raids relate to concerns of the abuse of a dominant market position, the EC said in a statement.&quot;Surprise inspections are a preliminary step in investigations into suspected infringements of EC competition law,&quot; the Commission said. The inspections do not prove guilt of anticompetitive behavior or prejudge the outcome of the investigation, the Commission said.The raid comes on the heels of multiple complaints and lawsuits filed by Intel competitor Advanced Micro Devices with authorities in the European Union, U.S., Japan, South Korea, and Japan, charging Intel with monopolistic behavior.In 2006, AMD said it planned to file a complaint with German authorities regarding Intel&#39;s alleged anticompetitive behavior. AMD alleged that Intel paid German retail chain Media Markt not to stock PCs containing AMD processors, citing a letter to a supplier in which the retailer said it would only buy PCs with Intel processors.As part of ongoing inquiries into Intel&#39;s monopolistic behavior, the EC earlier raided Intel&#39;s offices in 2005. Authorities in Japan raided Intel&#39;s offices in 2004.
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(InfoWorld) - When it comes to who can and who can't be a hacker, the German government appears to want its cake and eat it, too. AfterÂ passing antihacking legislationÂ earlier this year to crack down on the sharp rise in computer attacks in the public and private sectors, the government is now floating a plan to develop and smuggle its own spyware on to the hard drives of suspected terrorists through e-mail messages. German Interior Minister Wolfgang SchÃ¤uble has been feverishly seeking support for a new security law that would allow federal authorities to investigate suspects' Internet use and stored data without their knowledge, ever since the country's Federal Court of JusticeÂ halted their cybersnooping activitiesÂ in February. The judges argued that the hacking of computers by the police is not permitted under Germany's strict phone-tapping laws and that legislation would be needed to enable covert surveillance. SchÃ¤uble's efforts to introduce a security law with wider police surveillance powers have, however, led to a heated debate that nearly exploded late last week when a copy of the proposed security law was leaked to the German media. The measure would allow authorities to install Trojans carrying remote forensic software on suspects' hard drives. While SchÃ¤uble has said that government cyberspying would only be conducted in a handful of exceptional cases and only on those suspected of planning terrorist attacks, critics say he may have overstepped his bounds. Max Stadler, a security expert with the German Free Democratic Party, warned in a ZDF television interview last week that the Interior Ministry's spyware plan would weaken the trust of German citizens in government. He referred to the government Trojan as "an invasion into the private sphere." Magnus Kalkuhl, a virus specialist at the German office of Russian security software vendor Kaspersky Lab, said the plan "would undermine the very purpose of security software, which is to plug -- not make -- security holes." The idea of allowing officials in one specific country to snoop also disturbs Kalkuhl. "What's going to prevent police in Germany from breaking into computers in Italy?" he asked. And even if the government approves the use of spyware, Wolfgang Wieland, a member of the Green Party, told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper last week that he questions the success of a measure that assumes suspects know little about computers and won't detect and remove Trojans and other spyware. It's naive to believe that terrorists, who live in a world of conspiracy, would trip over something as obvious as e-mail from an unfamiliar source, he said. In defense of the plan, SchÃ¤uble said in an interview with Deutschlandradio last week that police need to keep pace with terrorists and criminals, who shouldn't be allowed to use cyberspace as a protected area. The plan, he said, isn't to control everyone's computer but rather only those machines used by suspected criminals and terrorists and only for a limited period of time. JÃ¶rg Ziercke, president of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), said in an interview with the German magazine Stern that the planned remote forensic software can't be used broadly because it must be tailored to run on each targeted computer. "We're talking about 10 such measures a year," he said. The German government has released no technical details of how the sypware will operate. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry declined to comment, citing security regulations. The use of spyware by crime fighters isn't new. For instance, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation uses a tool, called CIPAV (computer and Internet Protocol address verifier), which can record IP addresses and send this data back to government computers. Nor is Germany the only European country debating spyware legislation. Neighboring Switzerland and Austria are reportedly considering laws that will give police greater powers to monitor computers online. Neither of the countries has released any information on their spyware plans. No firm date is set when German parliamentarians are expected to vote on the proposed security law. But with Islamic radicals targeting German troops and others working in Afghanistan in recent weeks, SchÃ¤uble has spoken of a heightened threat level that makes the spyware issue of increasing urgency. Â
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The German software company says an American subsidiaryâs actions were âinappropriateâ but contests a claim of espionage.
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German police have long expressed interest in having surveillance tools that could crack Skype, but leaked documents seem to indicate that thanks to specially commissioned malware, they do indeed have ways of making your VoIP talk.
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(InfoWorld) - The German government is taking a lead in Europe with draft legislation to control data generated by nongovernmental orbital systems. The draft Satellite Data Security Law aims to significantly curb the ability of commercial companies to create and distribute satellite-generated data of the country. The law will require anyone operating an "advanced orbital reconnaissance system" to obtain a permit from the government. Satellites, space stations and air-based transportation systems are among the reconnaissance systems mentioned in the draft law. Under the proposed law, operators must also conduct and document a series of checks on customers to ensure that requests for data don't pose a threat to national security. Offenders could face a five-year prison term or a fine up to â¬500,000 ($646,000). The draft legislation comes as military and security officials in Germany warn of terrorist groups and others using data captured by satellites and other orbital systems to undermine the country's security systems. The legislation refers to all sensor-generated signals that could be used to create photos, digital models, and other images as "militarily relevant" data. German lawmakers argue that if such data should fall into the wrong hands, it could breach not only Germany's security systems but also those of neighboring countries.
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Hold the phone: Warrantless surveillance of international calls and e-mails into and out of the United States can go ahead while a judge's ruling, which called the intercepts unconstitutional, works its way through the appeals process.
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Suspect computers off limits German police have been prohibited from using hacking tactics to obtain intelligence from suspects' computers.â¦
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The governmentâs ability to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists overseas led to the arrests of three militants accused of planning attacks in Germany.
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Europe's solution to the SWIFT problem The European Parliament has recommended that the only logical way to stop US anti-terrorist investigators from illegally snooping on European financial transactions is to get the firm handling them to remove its data from US shores.â¦
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Fear of a Black Hat The German government this week published proposals to modernise the country's computer hacking laws.â¦
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(InfoWorld) - Germany will store digital fingerprints in addition to digital photos in passports as one of several biometric security measures planned toÂ fight organized crime and international terrorism. All new passports issued from November will store two digital fingerprints in an embedded chip, which, since 2005, includes a digital photo, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior said Friday. While fingerprints will be stored exclusively in passport chips, photos will continue to be saved additionally in databases of local authorities. A new amendment gives police and other authorized government officials online access to these databases. Unlike several other countries in Europe and abroad, Germany has no central database for photos or fingerprints of all citizens or for registered foreigners living in the country, and currently lacks plans to establish one, according to a ministry spokeswoman. Centralized data, including photos and fingerprints, exists only for people registered with the police for criminal activity, and for applicants for German visas. Only readers equipped with a new cryptographic protocol can read the passports including both photos and fingerprints. The Extended Access Control system connects the chip and the reader by establishing a secure communications channel over a distance of 10 centimeters to 20 centimeters. Moves by the German government to digitize increased levels of personal data and link databases among authorities have led to an outcry by some groups, including federal and state data privacy commissioners. At a meeting in DÃ¼sseldorf on Friday, the commissioners criticized the government's programs that amass personal data, including telephone records, and its plans to give greater power to police officials to monitor terrorists and other criminals online by allowing them to hack into computers. In 2008, the German government plans new ID cards for all citizens with the same biometric features, according to the spokeswoman. "There are three primary reasons to issue biometric ID cards: to avoid false IDs, strengthen the identification process and also offer an authorization possibility for services such as online purchases," she said. By 2010, Germany hopes to have a new central database containing core data about each citizen and registered inhabitant of the country, according to the spokeswoman. The data includes name, birthday and address but will not contain a photo or fingerprints, she said. In February, the government passed a law allowing security officials in the country to create theÂ largest and most comprehensive pool of personal dataÂ ever amassed in the country. The databases of nearly 40 different agencies, including the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), are now being linked to allow authorities to run searches on suspected individuals and retrieve information within minutes. An expanded index file is being created for suspected terrorists. The file will contain the person's name, bank account number, telephone number, e-mail address, driver's license information and other data, including the names of companies, organizations and other parties associated with the person and linked to terrorist groups. Since the start of this week, law enforcement officials in Germany and Austria have electronic access to each other's criminal fingerprint databases. Since 2006, the countries have shared their DNA databases as one of several measures agreed by some European Union nations under the Treaty of PrÃ¼m in 2005. Â
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(InfoWorld) - For months, German Interior Minister Wolfgang SchÃ¤uble has been lobbying intensively forÂ tough security measures to fight terrorismÂ and cybercrime. Now he's putting his words into action. Law enforcement officials in Germany and Austria are now among the first to have electronic access to each other's fingerprint databases, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior said Monday. Since 2006, the two countries have shared their DNA databases as one of several measures agreed by some European Union nations under the Treaty of PrÃ¼m in 2005. The treaty, which has meanwhile been signed by several E.U. member states, gives police and other security agencies in different countries unprecedentedÂ access to a range of individuals' personal data. During its E.U. presidency, Germany is trying to muster enough support to turn the Treaty of PrÃ¼m into E.U. law. Support for tough security measures has grown in Germany and other E.U. member states that worry about their national security being increasingly threatened by international terrorism, organized crime and, increasingly, cybercrime. Recently, the Baltic nation ofÂ Estonia suffered several weeks of DDOSÂ (distributed denial-of-service) attacks against government and private-sector Web sites. That DDOS attack sent a warning signal to governments across Europe. On Monday at an IT security conference hosted by the German Interior Ministry, SchÃ¤uble referred to information technology and communications infrastructures as "the nerve strands of society" and called on everyone -- governments, businesses and consumers -- to give IT security a top priority. Protecting critical infrastructure, including communication and energy grids, from cyberattacks is a key area of focus during the two-day conference. SchÃ¤uble is also determined to give the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) greater power to monitor terrorists and criminals online by allowing the agency to peek inside their computers. In an interview with the Berliner Zeitung published on Saturday, the minister said he aims to complete draft legislation over the next few weeks to allow the BKA to hack into the PCs of suspected criminals. This year Germany's High Court handed down a landmark decisionÂ banning police from installing spywareÂ on computers of suspected criminals without their knowledge. The High Court in Karlsruhe argued that searching computers is similar to searching homes, a practice in Germany that requires police to follow certain procedures, such as obtaining a search warrant and informing suspected offenders of a search. The judges also argued that hacking computers by the police is not permitted under Germany's strict phone-tapping laws and that legislation would be needed to enable covert surveillance. In the interview, SchÃ¤uble said he would amend Germany's constitutional law to allow online surveillance if the country's leading courts required such an amendment. In February, Germany passed a law allowing security officials to create the largest and most comprehensive pool of personal data ever amassed in the country. The databases of nearly 40 different agencies, including BKA and the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), are now linked to allow authorities to run searches on suspected individuals and retrieve information within minutes. Â
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A decision Monday by the German Federal High Court renders it illegal in that country -â for now -â for police and intelligence services to use clandestine tools such as Trojan horse routines, or what would normally be categorized as malware, for use in surveillance on federal suspects.  But that ruling could actually launch a new law that makes such surveillance viable.