German Police get powers to hack into home computers

How long before the rest of the world follows this example?


www.telegraph.co.uk...

That is too bad, I hope the war on terror is stopped before we are all declared terrorist. Oh and I think your signature post is offensive.

Originally posted by red 5
That is too bad, I hope the war on terror is stopped before we are all declared terrorist. Oh and I think your signature post is offensive.

I don't care what you think about my signature post.

I don't need your permission, and I don't seek your approval.

[edit on 6-12-2008 by Old Man]

reply to post by Old Man


Actually, he's trying to help you avoid being banned. Your signature post violates the T & C of ATS:

4) Advertising: You will not advertise or promote other discussion boards, chat systems, online communities or other websites on ATS within posts, avatars or signatures without prior written permission from AboveTopSecret.com LLP. Your will not choose a username that is the same as website domain, subdomain, or URL for which you are associated.

reply to post by ProfEmeritus


Aren't almost all links to outside websites, whether in threads or signatures, considered as 'promoting', then?

Oh you are right it does not matter what others find offensive here on ATS. as long as you get to express your oppinion so with that in mind I changed my sig.

reply to post by Old Man

Aren't almost all links to outside websites, whether in threads or signatures, considered as 'promoting', then?

Do what you want. I'm not a moderator, but my understanding of the T & C forbids advertising other FORUMS. I was just trying to help, as you are relatively new here. Why not just put whatever it is you want to say, on your signature, rather than linking to another forum?

reply to post by ProfEmeritus


OK....cheers.

I just found the tone of the other poster to be offensive. He didn't mention anything about TOS.......just that HE found it offensive.

Originally posted by red 5
Oh and I think your signature post is offensive.

Ahem...:

signature
Jesus was a homo.

Muahaha

EDIT: @topic:

Actually, the so called "Bundes Trojan" was heavily debated in Germany. The second party in the coalition managed it to restricten the use of it only after a warrant.

This law hasn't passed legislation yet. It was rejected by the Bundestag in a first run. After this, Schäuble - Germany's (quote) "hardline Interior Minister" - wanted to change the voting laws in the Bundestag. Now after the draft law was a little defused, it maybe can pass legislation in the second run without him trying to change the German Constitution to press this through.

So this article is kind of misleading...

[edit on 6.12.2008 by SiONiX]

reply to post by Old Man


Actually, in the US, the FBI have gone beyond what was posted regarding Germany:

The FBI appears to have begun using a novel form of electronic surveillance in criminal investigations: remotely activating a mobile phone's microphone and using it to eavesdrop on nearby conversations.

The technique is called a "roving bug," and was approved by top U.S. Department of Justice officials for use against members of a New York organized crime family who were wary of conventional surveillance techniques such as tailing a suspect or wiretapping him.

Nextel cell phones owned by two alleged mobsters, John Ardito and his attorney Peter Peluso, were used by the FBI to listen in on nearby conversations. The FBI views Ardito as one of the most powerful men in the Genovese family, a major part of the national Mafia.

The surveillance technique came to light in an opinion published this week by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. He ruled that the "roving bug" was legal because federal wiretapping law is broad enough to permit eavesdropping even of conversations that take place near a suspect's cell phone.

Kaplan's opinion said that the eavesdropping technique "functioned whether the phone was powered on or off." Some handsets can't be fully powered down without removing the battery; for instance, some Nokia models will wake up when turned off if an alarm is set.

While the Genovese crime family prosecution appears to be the first time a remote-eavesdropping mechanism has been used in a criminal case, the technique has been discussed in security circles for years.

The U.S. Commerce Department's security office warns that "a cellular telephone can be turned into a microphone and transmitter for the purpose of listening to conversations in the vicinity of the phone." An article in the Financial Times last year said mobile providers can "remotely install a piece of software on to any handset, without the owner's knowledge, which will activate the microphone even when its owner is not making a call."

Nextel and Samsung handsets and the Motorola Razr are especially vulnerable to software downloads that activate their microphones, said James Atkinson, a counter-surveillance consultant who has worked closely with government agencies. "They can be remotely accessed and made to transmit room audio all the time," he said. "You can do that without having physical access to the phone."

Because modern handsets are miniature computers, downloaded software could modify the usual interface that always displays when a call is in progress. The spyware could then place a call to the FBI and activate the microphone--all without the owner knowing it happened. (The FBI declined to comment on Friday.)

source: news.cnet.com...



edited for typo

[edit on 6-12-2008 by ProfEmeritus]

reply to post by ProfEmeritus


just gotta say wow

now that is something I would have never imagined to be possible.

regarding the trojan, if it passed, i wonder if it would include a clause saying anti-virus software providers could not create programs stopping it acting?

reply to post by wayno

There is a ton of information on the net now about this. If you Google "roving bug" using the quotes, you'll get about 4,330 hits. Some of them have some fairly interesting information. Stay away from the ones that Google has flagged "This site may harm your computer", of course. There are a few of them on the hit list.

Just goes to show that if you have something legit that they don't like, you can't put it anywhere near a machine that goes on line. Maybe the beauty will be that we don't overly trust technology.......