re: #531 Obdicut

Doesn’t the tool completely corrupt the chain of evidence? I mean, if the virus is present, wouldn’t that mean that any evidence gathered would have to be dismissed because the control of the computer would be so total that anything could get planted there?

Well, yes. Consider also the following snippet from the initial CCC press release (emphasis mine):

To avoid revealing the location of the command and control server, all data is redirected through a rented dedicated server in a data center in the USA. The control of this malware is only partially within the borders of its jurisdiction. The instrument could therefore violate the fundamental principle of national sovereignty. Considering the incompetent encryption and the missing digital signatures on the command channel, this poses an unacceptable and incalculable risk. It also poses the question how a citizen is supposed to get their right of legal redress in the case the wiretapping data get lost outside Germany, or the command channel is misused.

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So its only use would be for surveillance, not for actually building criminal cases, which makes it even more inexcusable?

Yeah, it’s a complete clusterfuck. Right now, though, official statements range from flat out denial that it originated from the government at all, that it originated from the federal government, that the federal government was offered such a software but refused its purchase, that the functions had been considered “legitimate” even after the consitutional court’s verdict… oh, and also bashing of the liberal justice Minister who had come out early and condemned the software. Pure panic, wonderful.