The Federal Office (BKA) has started to use Trojans for monitoring of smartphones and tablets. This is reported by NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung and y rely on security authorities. Thus, so-called source telecommunication monitoring (source TKÜ) is already used in ongoing investigation procedures.

The interior ministers of Länder had explicitly demanded this police licence for hacking computers and smartphones, last summer Federal Council approved amendments to Code of Criminal Procedure. The investigators of BKA are henceforth allowed to monitor messages from suspicious persons via messenger services such as WhatsApp, telegram or signal. Unlike phone calls and text messages that can be easily listened to or read from, se services use encryption by default.

The source TKÜ installs a monitoring program on a computer. This intersects communication before encryption and transmits it unnoticed by user. Only current communication (for example Skype calls or WhatsApp chats) may be monitored at source TKÜ. "Dormant" files on computer must not be copied, nor can screenshots be taken.

Almost two years ago it became known that Federal Office has a self-programmed, ready-to-use monitoring software. Wher and to what extent this – or any or furr developed software – is now being used, BKA did not want to give any information to NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung.

The background for use of monitoring software is, among or things, police complaints, which are no longer able to identify effectively on Internet. Many people are increasingly shifting ir communications into encrypted services like WhatsApp. The general attorney warned more than a year ago that, because of widespread encryption, only 15 percent of communication could be recorded by suspects.

Worries about IT security

There is a lot of criticism about use of monitoring software: It experts fear that foreseen powers "to a massive weakening of IT security infrastructure and thatonlyone to a compromise of users of Information technology Systems can contribute ". For investigators must find a weakness in hardware or software to be able to hack a device. The danger is that you are using se vulnerabilities for yourself – and not reporting m. Thus all devices of this type remained vulnerable. Also for criminal hackers.

The Freedom Rights Society is currently preparing a constitutional complaint against State Trojans.

Date Of Update: 27 January 2018, 12:03