Germany intends to legalize use of Trojan programs

8th September 2007

It is possible that German law enforcement authorities will soon be able to use the Trojan programs for surveillance of Internet users legally.
At least, reports Associated Press, the proposal to legalize such a "security measures" came from Minister of the Interior Wolfgang SchÃ¤uble.
The plan proposed by the authorities, is as follows. Special Agents will send emails with spy modules on behalf of various government organizations such as the Ministry of Finance. When viewing the letter, some Trojan program will get into a user`s PC. Though this trojan law enforcement agencies will be able to monitor the actions of the user and view files stored on the hard drive.
It is expected that a Trojan program for special surveillance can be used only after receiving a special sanction. Trojans are supposed to be sent primarily to people suspected of involvement in terrorist activities. According to SchÃ¤uble, the measure was proposed as part of the law aimed at ensuring security. The bill is being currently considered by the coalition government.
The proposal has already caused sharp criticism from human rights organizations, who say that snooping through Trojan programs will be a direct violation of human rights on privacy. Moreover, some experts doubt the effectiveness of the new initiatives of the government, noting that the suspects will not find it very difficult to detect the spyware program and prevent its entry into the computer.