Germany Debates Security Measures
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As the investigation continued into a foiled terrorist attack, there were divisions over new security measures.
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(InfoWorld) - The German government has agreed to implement a sweeping set of security measures aimed at protecting critical IT infrastructure in the country. The measures are part the National Plan for Protection of Communications Infrastructure approved more than two years ago by the German federal government and applicable to all federal departments and agencies. The move to implement the plan follows last week's German media report about continuedÂ efforts by Chinese hackers to plant Trojan horse programsÂ on government computers. Security experts from Germany's Federal Office for Information Security and Federal Data Protection Office discovered in May Trojan horse programs in computers used in several government ministries, including the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Economics and the Research and Development Ministry, as well as Chancellor Angela Merkel's office, and say theÂ attacks by Chinese hackersÂ continue, the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported on Aug. 27. The IT security policies that the federal government will implement have been developed in cooperation with more than 30 large German companies that offer critical infrastructure services such as electricity, natural gas, banking, and telecommunications, and depend on secure and reliable communication systems to operate their networks. The companies have also agreed to implement the IT security measures within their organizations. With Islamic radicals targeting German troops and others working in Afghanistan in recent weeks, government officials, including Federal Interior Minister Wolfgang SchÃ¤uble, point to a heightened threat level that makes IT security an issue of increasing urgency. Additional information about the IT security plan is available on the federal government's Web site. Â
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Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed on Wednesday to keep German peacekeepers in northern Afghanistan and resist attempts to transfer them to the more violent south.Comment
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Germany interior minister calls for new anti-terror measures after a failed bomb attack on two trains last month.
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Talks next month between President Bush and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will focus on the fight against terrorism and the situation in Iraq, a German government spokesman said on Friday.
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German authorities called for increased vigilance on Friday against possible terror attacks, saying the kind of threat detected before the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States had resurfaced.
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Germany&#39;s dream of a permanent seat on the UN Security Council got support from Great Britain and France Thursday but prompted domestic concerns that the country was perhaps too ambitious.
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German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder pointed out Russian and German common positions on counter-terrorism. The governments of both countries [Russia and Germany] believes that counter-terrorism should be ...
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As Germany and Interpol join the Litvinenko investigation, clues - and agendas - are often at odds.
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Germany holds an Islam conference to tackle integration problems amid a row about self-censorship.
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German government plans to spy on terror suspects by deploying malicious e-mails draw sharp criticism.
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Germany's defense minister suggested Wednesday that his country might one day consider a deployment in Iraq, but the German government played down the remarks, saying it won't budge from its refusal to send troops.
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Germany and the US say better cooperation is needed to fight terrorism, but while Germany is advocating a &quot;clearing house&quot; to exchange information, the US says that idea won&#39;t work.
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BERLIN, Sep 28 (IPS) - German politicians met Muslim leaders this week for  an unprecedented Islam Conference -- a debate that the government  hopes will pave the way for smoother integration of the  country's Muslims, even though community representatives  warn that more needs to be done.
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German police tightened checks around the Group of Eight summit site of Heiligendamm on Sunday, and Chancellor Angela Merkel said the "dreadful pictures" of rock-throwing protesters a day earlier showed the need for tight security.
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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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German officials on Friday defended a proposal to use "Trojan horse" software to secretly monitor potential terror suspects' hard drives, amid fierce debate over whether the measures violate civil liberties.