In Germany, a scandal erupted around police officers from Bavaria, who used illegal methods of spying on suspects. A group of programmers managed to crack the spyware created by the guardians of the law. The application collected personal data from users' computers, including images from webcams, sound from microphones, and texts typed on the keyboard. The German chancellor even had to intervene in the matter
Why put microphones or microcameras if most Internet users already have them? You just need to make the computer spy on its owner. So you can eavesdrop on conversations without unnecessary hassle, or spy on suspicious persons.
Fears of fans of conspiracy theories that the all-seeing eye of the state machine is watching any movements of citizens turned out to be a reality. The professional association of hackers, in Germany there is one, announced: they have come across a spyware on the Internet. It was hacked. It turned out that the police stole user data.
“The country has become like an ubiquitous locator. She uses a technique that has been unknown until now. It is possible that it can be used to read the thoughts of computer owners,”says Konstanz Kurz, a spokesman for the German hacker association.
This is called an online search. Everything that you have written on the keyboard, everything that you said or downloaded, may be known to the Bavarian criminal police officer, and maybe not only to him. German internet users were horrified.
“If we are talking about real cases, a thorough investigation must be carried out and clear rules must be laid down which will indicate when and in what situations this type of software can be used,” says Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, Minister of Justice.
The spyware is genuine. Official documents have leaked to the network. A letter to a computer company from the Bavarian Ministry of Justice specifies the requirements for a robo-spy. The main goal is to wiretap private conversations over the Internet.
The scandal reached German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She ordered a comprehensive investigation. The Bavarian police had to confess. Yes, they spied, but with the best intentions.
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“The Trojan virus was introduced into the computer during the trial to prevent a crime. We do not accept accusations of hacking,”said Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Hermann.
It turned out the total number of malicious programs in the service of Germany 5. They have been scouring the Internet since April this year. They break into personal mail, photographs, and have sent over 30,000 screenshots of German Internet users' computer screens to the police. All this is supposedly to combat online fraud. Another thing is that these programs themselves have access to passwords and bank accounts of German citizens.
And most importantly, the personal data of the Germans left Germany, were sent to a server in the USA. And this is a direct violation of the law. And it will not work to justify it by fighting online scammers.