German State Confesses To, Downplays Government Spyware

First time accepted submitter clickforfreepizza writes with this news on the German 'state trojan' analyzed by the CCC: '[The] Bavarian Interior Minister [confirmed] that state officials had indeed used the software, but argued that the use had been conducted legally. [...] [A] lawyer said his client had had the software in question installed on his computer during a customs check. That software, which could be legally used for monitoring telecommunications, had been altered to allow it to grab screen shots.' The H's sister site heise.de reports this case involves nothing like terrorism, but legal substances which 'may become' illegal when exported. (German original) The Bavarian press release (German original) also says the code analyzed by the CCC might be an earlier test version."

Comments

I'm so disappointed in you Germany

[elrous0]

I just can't believe that *Germans* would engage in such heavy-handed government repression.

Re:I'm so disappointed in you Germany

[dkleinsc]

Heaven: Where the chefs are French, the police British, the carmakers German, and the lovers Italian, all organized by the Swiss.

Hell: Where the chefs are British, the police German, the carmakers French, the lovers Swiss, all organized by the Italians.

Re:I'm so disappointed in you Germany

[GameboyRMH]

I heard another one like this:

Heaven is a British home, a Chinese chef, an American salary and a Japanese wife.

Hell is a Japanese home, a British chef, a Chinese salary and an American wife.