Anti-terror cyberspying focus of German court case 10 Oct 2007 16:28:33 GMT Source: Reuters http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L10105095.htm
By Louis Charbonneau BERLIN, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The government urged Germany's top court on Wednesday not to ban the security services from planting 'Trojan' spyware on suspects' computers, calling it a vital tool in fighting terrorism. "Germany is part of a global danger zone and can at any time become the target of terrorist attacks," August Hanning, deputy interior minister and former head of the foreign intelligence agency, told the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. So-called online searches -- remote inspections of computers using Internet spyware -- were "urgently needed to ... ensure security today and in the future", he said in the written text of a statement to the court. "The Internet has become the decisive medium," Hanning said. The controversial surveillance technique involves sending out emails that plant so-called Trojan software on the suspect's computer and enable the authorities to scan its hard drive. It has sparked a heated debate in Germany where experiences of the Nazi Gestapo and East Germany's Stasi secret police have left a distrust of state intrusion. Germany's independent privacy commissioner, Peter Schaar, told the court the measure would be "a further alarming step towards ever more sweeping surveillance". It would not only give the authorities access to documents, photos and emails, but could be used to record every keystroke and even to activate cameras, microphones or other equipment linked to the computer, he said. The court hearing is into the legality of cyberspying in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Domestic intelligence officials began using it 10 months ago, drawing complaints by several lawyers, a journalist and a former state interior minister. The case in Karlsruhe could open or close the door to any future attempts by Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to give authorities throughout Germany the right to engage in Internet spying. The case could last months. Presiding judge Hans-Juergen Papier made it clear in his opening statement he had serious doubts about cyberspying because it opened up fundamental questions about the balance of freedom and security. Last month German police arrested three Muslim men they say planned car bomb attacks around Germany and belonged to a militant Islamist group linked to al Qaeda. Diplomats said Germany relied heavily on electronic intercepts provided to it by the CIA to foil the plot. Because of Germany's own strict rules on police and security methods, police could not have gathered sufficient evidence to arrest the men without outside help, they said. The risks in banning cyberspying would outweigh any benefits, Hanning said. He argued that militants' increasing reliance on the Internet meant wire-tapping alone was no longer effective in preventing terrorism. 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