German State Confesses To, Downplays Government Spyware 104
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."
Re:".. has been altered ..." (Score:5, Insightful)
There are some government powers for which safeguards against abuse simply are not sufficient. The power itself must be taken away, because the eventual abuse cannot be worth any beneficial uses it might have.
Re:I'm so disappointed in you Germany (Score:3, Insightful)
Hell: Where the chefs are British, the police German, the carmakers French, the lovers Swiss, all organized by the Italians.
And the accountants are Greek.