To collect data from IT systems, investigators in Berlin can secretly search suspects' rooms. This is in a Police Act amendment.

In order to monitor encrypted communication, investigators will in future, according to the Senate draft and the Änderungen der Abgeordneten, not only be allowed to hack IT systems but also to secretly enter suspects’ apartments.

If remote installation of the spyware is technically not possible, paragraph 26 explicitly allows investigators to “secretly enter and search premises” in order to gain access to IT systems. In fact, Berlin is thus legalizing – as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania did before – state intrusion into private apartments in order to physically install Trojans, for example via USB stick.

  • Mikina@programming.dev
    3·
    5 hours ago

    People whose thread model requires high stakes and serious encryption are probably using PGP with hardware keychain, with Tails or something similar on a live USB.

    Adding a high-profile law like this will probably just cause them to increase their op-sec and make it even harder to actually get any evidence where it really matters, while having a huge PR cost and abuse potential. But it’s very probably not about catching criminals anyway.

    Also, it’s kinda funny that they moved from SS to AA :D