I Tyskland har Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (GFF) anmält bruket av så kallade statstrojaner till författningsdomstolen.
Det handlar om program som myndigheterna kan låta installera på datorer, telefoner, plattor och andra enheter för att till exempel övervaka och avlyssna dess användare. Detta är relevant även för oss, då regeringen just nu förbereder en svensk variant – hemlig dataavläsning.
»As a form of government surveillance, state trojans present unique and grave threats to privacy and security. It has the potential to be far more intrusive than any other surveillance technique, permitting the government to remotely and surreptitiously access personal devices and all the intimate information they store. It also permits the government to conduct novel forms of real-time surveillance, by covertly turning on a device’s microphone, camera, or GPS-based locator technology, or by capturing continuous screenshots or seeing anything input into and output from the device. The use of trojans allows governments to manipulate data on devices, by deleting, corrupting or planting data; recovering data that has been deleted; or adding or editing code to alter or add capabilities, all while erasing any trace of the intrusion. These targets are not confined to devices. They can extend also to communications networks and their underlying infrastructure.
At the same time, the use of state trojans has the potential to undermine the security of targeted devices, networks or infrastructure, and potentially even the internet as a whole. Computer systems are complex and, almost with certainty, contain vulnerabilities that third parties can exploit to compromise their security. Government use of state trojans often depends on exploiting vulnerabilities in systems to facilitate a surveillance objective. Government hacking may also involve manipulating people to interfere with their own systems. These latter techniques prey on user trust, the loss of which can undermine the security of systems and the internet.«
Statewatch: GFF Challenge to use of government spyware (Germany) »