Germany passes controversial antihacking law
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An antihacking proposal that has come under fire for overly restricting "white hat" security researchers has become law in Germany.
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Europe's betting industry says a German law banning online gambling breaks European Union law.
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When it comes to who can and who can't be a hacker, the German government appears to want its cake and eat it, too.
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(InfoWorld) - Moves by several European countries to tighten laws against computer hacking worry security professionals who often use the same tools as hackers but for legitimate purposes. The U.K. and Germany are among the countries that are considering revisions to their computer crime laws in line with the 2001 Convention on Cybercrime, a European-wide treaty, and with a similar European Union measure passed in early 2005. But security professionals are scrutinizing those revisions out of concern for how prosecutors and judges could apply the laws. Security professionals are especially concerned about cases where the revisions apply to programs that could be used for bad or good. Companies often use hacking programs to test the mettle of their own systems. "One useful utility in the wrong hands is a potentially malicious hacking tool," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos PLC in Abingdon, England. In the U.K., legislators are debating amendments to the Computer Misuse Act (CMA) of 1990. The proposed revisions would make it illegal to create or supply a tool to someone who intends to use it for unauthorized computer access or modification. Likewise, the proposed changes to German law would also criminalize making and distributing hacking tools. The German government said the changes will bring it into compliance with the 2001 Convention on Cybercrime. Several German security companies are planning to lobby against the law, as they fear it could hamper those who test security systems, said Alexander Kornbrust, founder and chief executive officer of Red-Database-Security GmbH in Neunkirchen, Germany. For example, tools to check the strength of passwords, often freely distributed, could also be used by malicious hackers, he said. "The security community is very unhappy with this approach," Kornbrust said. "The concern is that the usage and possession of so called hacker tools will become illegal." The U.K. and Germany are trying to align their laws with Article 6 of the Convention, which bans the creation of computer programs for the purpose of committing cybercrime. So far, 43 countries have signed the Convention, which indicates their willingness to revise their laws to comply. Fifteen have ratified the Convention. After a country changes its laws, it can ratify the convention and put it into force. The Convention does not mandate a deadline for when countries must comply, and the process of changing laws can be lengthy depending on the country, said Margaret Killerby, head of the European Committee on Crime Problems, which tracks implementation of the Convention. But the goal is for Europe -- and other countries, such as the U.S., which also said it will implement the Convention soon -- to mount a consistent defense against computer criminals given the transnational nature of computer crime, Killerby said. A key point of the Convention requires countries to have a law enforcement contact available at all times to assist foreign authorities in obtaining electronic evidence, which can disappear quickly without quick moves by law enforcement. "What we want to have is an institution to allow states to cooperate with each other as rapidly as possible," she said. Those requirements are devoid of controversy. Individual countries can draft their own customized legislation to comply with the Convention, which can be used as a checklist, Killerby said. The Council has provided assistance to countries in central and eastern Europe in creating computer crime laws where none were on the books, Killerby said. Countries with existing laws will have find a medium that satisfies their own legal requirements and the Convention. In the U.K., the House of Lords is scheduled next month to debate changes in the part of the CMA concerning creation and distribution of hacking tools. The proposed revision to the CMA says a person is guilty of an offense if he makes or supplies something intending it to be used to commit an offense or "believing that it is likely to be so used." But officials are confident that the wording can be smoothed. The controversy could be dampened merely by changing "likely" to "primarily" which could "make sure we don't catch the legitimate penetration testers," said Merlin Erroll, a Lord who sits on the All Party Parliamentary Internet Group (APIG), during a recent presentation in London. REFERENCES: UK bill would increase penalties for cybercriminals, Jan. 27, 2006Analysts eye revamp of UK cybercrime law, Jun. 7, 2006UK teen pleads guilty to DOS e-mail attack, Aug. 24, 2006
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A decision Monday by the German Federal High Court renders it illegal in that country -â for now -â for police and intelligence services to use clandestine tools such as Trojan horse routines, or what would normally be categorized as malware, for use in surveillance on federal suspects.  But that ruling could actually launch a new law that makes such surveillance viable.
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The European Commission said Monday it was suing Germany over a law allowing Deutsche Telekom AG to keep rivals off its high-speed Internet networks.
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An anti-terrorism law that allows Polish authorities to shoot down hijacked planes as a last resort took effect Thursday, part of efforts to protect the country from attacks similar to those of Sept. 11.
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The German government is taking a lead in Europe with draft legislation to control data generated by nongovernmental orbital systems.
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(InfoWorld) - Germany's High Court has handed down a landmark decision banning police from installing spyware on computers of suspected criminals without their knowledge. The decision, announced Monday, is a blow to the plans of the German Interior Minister Wolfgang SchÃ¤uble to give the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) greater power to monitor terrorists and other criminals online, and peek inside their computers. Two other federal judges had differed over whether police should be able to hack into the computers of suspected criminals and install spyware. In February, one judge approved police hacking. But another barred the practice in November, resulting in an appeal by federal prosecutors. The High Court in Karlsruhe argued that searching computers is similar to searching homes, a practice in Germany that requires police to follow certain procedures, such as obtaining a search warrant and informing suspected offenders of a search. The judges also argued that hacking computers by the police is not permitted under Germany's strict phone-tapping laws and that legislation would be needed to enable covert surveillance. Last year, SchÃ¤uble persuaded the German pParliament to approve â¬132 million ($171 million) for his Program for Strengthening Domestic Security. As part of the program, the BKA would have been allowed to penetrate and monitor PCs of suspected offenders in Germany via the Internet. The program also calls for greater use of video cameras in public places, biometric systems and other new security technologies, as well as the establishment of an "Internet Monitoring and Analysis Office."
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The European Union&#39;s 27 governments gave the final OK Thursday to a law that will slash the cost of using a mobile phone abroad by around 70 percent, the German government said.
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A German law currently in draft form would make hacking illegal, even if no data was stolen. It would also ban the creation or use of hacker tools -- a prospect that worries "white hat" security experts.
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Chinese hackers have infiltrated German government computers with spy programmes, the news magazine Der Spiegel reported Saturday. via Earth Times
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An anti-terrorism law that allows Polish authorities to shoot down hijacked planes as a last resort took effect Thursday, part of efforts to protect the country from attacks similar to those of Sept.
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German politicians called for tougher anti-terrorism measures and immigration rules on Thursday after police said they had foiled a plot by Islamist militants to carry out massive bomb attacks.
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(InfoWorld) - Germany will store digital fingerprints in addition to digital photos in passports as one of several biometric security measures planned toÂ fight organized crime and international terrorism. All new passports issued from November will store two digital fingerprints in an embedded chip, which, since 2005, includes a digital photo, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior said Friday. While fingerprints will be stored exclusively in passport chips, photos will continue to be saved additionally in databases of local authorities. A new amendment gives police and other authorized government officials online access to these databases. Unlike several other countries in Europe and abroad, Germany has no central database for photos or fingerprints of all citizens or for registered foreigners living in the country, and currently lacks plans to establish one, according to a ministry spokeswoman. Centralized data, including photos and fingerprints, exists only for people registered with the police for criminal activity, and for applicants for German visas. Only readers equipped with a new cryptographic protocol can read the passports including both photos and fingerprints. The Extended Access Control system connects the chip and the reader by establishing a secure communications channel over a distance of 10 centimeters to 20 centimeters. Moves by the German government to digitize increased levels of personal data and link databases among authorities have led to an outcry by some groups, including federal and state data privacy commissioners. At a meeting in DÃ¼sseldorf on Friday, the commissioners criticized the government's programs that amass personal data, including telephone records, and its plans to give greater power to police officials to monitor terrorists and other criminals online by allowing them to hack into computers. In 2008, the German government plans new ID cards for all citizens with the same biometric features, according to the spokeswoman. "There are three primary reasons to issue biometric ID cards: to avoid false IDs, strengthen the identification process and also offer an authorization possibility for services such as online purchases," she said. By 2010, Germany hopes to have a new central database containing core data about each citizen and registered inhabitant of the country, according to the spokeswoman. The data includes name, birthday and address but will not contain a photo or fingerprints, she said. In February, the government passed a law allowing security officials in the country to create theÂ largest and most comprehensive pool of personal dataÂ ever amassed in the country. The databases of nearly 40 different agencies, including the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), are now being linked to allow authorities to run searches on suspected individuals and retrieve information within minutes. An expanded index file is being created for suspected terrorists. The file will contain the person's name, bank account number, telephone number, e-mail address, driver's license information and other data, including the names of companies, organizations and other parties associated with the person and linked to terrorist groups. Since the start of this week, law enforcement officials in Germany and Austria have electronic access to each other's criminal fingerprint databases. Since 2006, the countries have shared their DNA databases as one of several measures agreed by some European Union nations under the Treaty of PrÃ¼m in 2005. Â
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A decision from Germany's highest court resolves confusion over police power to covertly install spyware on the computers of suspected criminals.
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Both houses of the California legislature have passed a bill that would require government agencies to take security precautions before using RFID chips in public documents and identification cards.