Germany’s Chaos Computer Club may have unearthed one of the biggest scandals in recent history. Apparently the Germans can legally wiretap their citizens under strict and extreme conditions, we’d like to suppose, conditions like a subpoena or court order. However since 2008, they have a law that allows the government to listen in to encrypted Skype conversations by using a small application also known as a Trojan. A Trojan, in the computer world, of course, is a small piece of seemingly harmless code, usually disguised as something useful, like perhaps nude pictures of Christina Aguilera. This code then allows a remote user to access the affected computer and, among other things, intercept conversations, data, etc.
In other words, the German government, has developed a computer trojan, which is illegal in most of the world, to spy on its own citizens, and has been spreading it. Normally, such actions can be expected of more totalitarian countries, but considering their historical past, Germany’s law enforcement might be skating on thin ice.
