Germany: Worldwide Eavesdropping By Handy?
Berlin: Yesterday media reports came up that German police eavesdrops on German citizens by using handys as room microphones, even if they seem apparently deactivated.
Furthermore Police officials in adjoining Republic of Austria said that kind of espionage against citizens by the executive branch was not „usual“ in Austria and only used against criminals, they asserted.(1)Because communication networks are international, every secret service – private oder state-owned – can use that eavesdropping technologies against everyone worldwide.
It is already known to the public that the FBI used that surveillance in the case of John Ardito and his attorney Peter Peluso.(2)
The dimension in eavesdropping came to light when in November 2006 U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that the „roving bug“ operation against Ardito und his attorney was legal because US federal wiretapping law is broad enough to permit eavesdropping even of conversations that take place near a suspect‘s cell phone.
Surreptitious activation of built-in microphones by the FBI has been done before. A 2003 lawsuit revealed that the FBI was able to surreptitiously turn on the built-in microphones in automotive systems like General Motors‘ OnStar to snoop on passengers‘ conversations.
When FBI agents remotely activated the system and were listening in, passengers in the vehicle could not tell that their conversations were being monitored.(2)
Since the 80ies it is possible for each and everyone to spy on each and everyone´s computer monitor – live.
In 1985, Wim van Eck published the first unclassified technical analysis of the security risks of emanations from computer monitors. This paper caused some consternation in the security community, which had previously believed that such monitoring was a highly sophisticated attack available only to governments; van Eck successfully eavesdropped on a real system, at a range of hundreds of metres, using just $15 worth of equipment plus a television set. In consequence of this research such emanations are sometimes called „van Eck radiation“, and the eavesdropping technique van Eck phreaking, although it is believed that government researchers were already aware of the danger, as the NSA published Tempest Fundamentals, NSA-82-89, NACSIM 5000, National Security Agency (Classified) on February 1, 1982. (6)
It is proven that international espionage is a question of International Security.
In November 2006 the leader of the Green Party Fraction in Bavaria State Parliament, Margarete Bause, complained about being spied out online by China´s secret services.(7)
„A QUESTION OF IMPEACHMENT“
To bring down German Constitution to a lower level of guaranteed freedom German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) has been trying to enforce his „anti-terror“-bill against the second government party SPD, which is also a straight neo-liberal, but former social-democratic party.
Schäuble also threatened the German Republic by considering a police state instead of a free society to protect the free society, as he said.
He is also calculating with terror attacks if his plans wouldn´t be determined by the coalition government, a federal state Interior Minister said.
„After a terror attack in Germany he wants to be able to assert: if the SPD wouldn´t have retarted me, there wouldn´t have been an attack“, Interior Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, Ralf Stegner (SPD) said.
„If Schäuble is calculating that way – and much speaks for it – this whole thing is becoming a question of impeachment.“ (3)
The German Ministry of Justice under Brigitte Zypries (SPD) also rejected the new „security“ bill of Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, which implies warrantless spying and eavesdropping on „suspects“ by handy and computers.
Brigitte Zypries also mentioned, that Schäuble didn´t even say what exactly this „security“ bill contains in operative details, regarding the so-called „online-searches“.
„Is it a search of homes, or similar to it, or is it another kind of search or is this an eavesdropping of conversations?“ Zypries questioned yesterday.(4)
Even the President of Germany, Horst Köhler (CDU), critized the Interior Minister Schäuble (5).
In the Republic of Germany the President doesn´t have executive power, but is a quite important representative.
Meanwhile Chancelor Angela Merkel (CDU) is under tremendous pressure to distance herself from Schäuble and his self-declared anti-terror bill.
other articles:
14.06.2007
„Unconstitutional“ military operation during G8 summit causes anger in Germany
http://radio-utopie.de/english.php?themenID=609&JAHR_AKTUELL=2007&MON_AKTUELL=6
28.05.07
Germany: Government Party Discuss Withdraw from War in Afghanistan
http://radio-utopie.de/english.php?themenID=552&JAHR_AKTUELL=2007&MON_AKTUELL=5
Quellen:
(1)
http://futurezone.orf.at/it/stories/207396/
(2)
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6140191.html
(3)
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/,tt2m4/deutschland/artikel/677/123504/
(4)
http://www.dradio.de/dlf/sendungen/interview_dlf/646454/
(5)
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/deutschland/artikel/658/123485/
(6)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TEMPEST
(7)
http://www.margarete-bause.de/cms/presse/dok/158/158462.bespitzelt_chinesischer_geheimdienst_die.htm