Wed 08 September 2021:
The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) purchased the renowned Pegasus spyware from the Israeli firm NSO in 2019, according to a federal government announcement on Tuesday.
The administration told the Interior Committee of the Bundestag about the purchase in a closed-door meeting, according to sources in the parliament. It confirmed with earlier claims in the German newspaper ‘Die Zeit’ on the subject.
The program was obtained in “utmost secrecy,” according to “Die Zeit.” Despite legal objections, the decision was made because the surveillance tool can accomplish far more than German privacy regulations allow.
According to security circles, the version purchased by the BKA had certain functions disabled to prevent abuse. On a practical level, however, it is unclear how this works.
Die Zeit, the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, and the public broadcasters NDR and WDR collaborated on the research.
According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, BKA Vice President Martina Link revealed to parliamentarians that her organization had purchased the software.
The police agency got a version of the Pegasus Trojan virus software in 2020, which has been deployed in select terrorism and organized crime operations since March of this year.
Security agencies can only install spyware on the telephones and computers of surveillance targets in specific instances, according to a judgement by Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court, and can only launch particular sorts of operations.
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