Bureaucrats in Germany are routinely planting malicious spyware on computers in seemingly innocuous emails. The spyware allows them to access the private communications of the owner and even to spy on the owner in the privacy of his own home or office.
The monitoring of Internet telephone communications is allowed by German law, but this spyware that is being used by some law enforcement agencies is “capable of much more intrusive snooping,” raising serious concerns about the potential for a “Big Brother” level of surveillance.
The Computer Chaos Club, a hacker group, published details of their examination of spyware planted on a laptop in Bavaria. It found that the spyware — developed by DigiTask for the Bavarian police–was capable of much more than just monitoring internet phone calls. It could take screenshots, remotely add files and control a computer’s microphone or webcam to monitor the person’s home. The authorities insist that they did not deploy these functions. [1]
The day will come when Big Brother will mandate that all cell phones and computers must have video cameras and microphones built in and they must have spyware installed that will allow him to eavesdrop and watch every owner 24/7.
Endnotes
Dowling, Siobhan, “German authorities plant spyware on citizens’ computers.” 10.27.2011.