“Why Switzerland does not she develops its own software … – Le Temps

 The Young Socialists Zurich complain after buying a Trojan horse by the Zurich police. Premature approach, considers the lawyer Sébastien Fanti

The purchase of spyware by Zurich police continues to make waves. A week after the revelations of the German-speaking media, the Young Socialists Zurich filed a complaint against State Councilor in charge of security. They accuse the socialist Mario Fehr have approved the purchase of a Trojan that allows the police to infiltrate phones or computers without the knowledge of their users. “The acquisition and use of the software Galileo [...] are a violation of the constitutional right to personal liberty and privacy,” they criticize in their complaint sent Monday to the Zurich prosecution.

They believe that the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows Listens under certain conditions, “does not authorize the use of such software for monitoring and handling of communications.” They say they have received support from Zurich three lawyers, including Marcel Bosonnet, who worked last year on behalf of Edward Snowden, and Viktor Györffy, the Digitale Gesellschaft, an association specialized in data protection.

“The legal basis is insufficient to acquire a Trojan horse that runs on IT vulnerabilities. The police act like a criminal hacker, “said Viktor Györffy. “In our opinion, the use of GovWares [malicious software] is not permitted by the current Criminal Procedure Code,” corroborates Silvia Böhlen, Office of Federal Commissioner for Data Protection – a gap that could be filled with the new law on intelligence. If questioned lawyers share this criticism, however they remain doubtful about the approach of the Young Socialists. Sébastien Fanti, a lawyer specializing in new technologies, explains his skepticism

The Weather. Does the complaint has any chance of success

Sébastien Fanti?: I think the complaint will be promptly discontinued. To invoke the violation of a fundamental right, the Young Socialists must show that they are themselves victims. A prosecutor shall not initiate an investigation of such an accusation. The complaint is too vague and premature

-. Why

– The Young Socialists accusations are based on revelations of the press, fed by mails stolen by hackers. But they have not seen the contract signed between the police and the Italian company Hacking Team. With this contract, we would know exactly what features have been purchased and if some of them are illegal, allowing disproportionate investigations. Geolocation in real time, for example, is not justifiable for minor offenses. Another function that can be a problem is the recognition of keys pressed and therefore passwords. It allows police to access bank accounts, without the prior approval of a judge. This generates temptations …

– According to emails published by hackers, the Zurich police would not have sought to strictly limit the use of the software when purchased late 2014

– It should require the contract, under the standards of transparency. The State Council should have been clear from the start and warn citizens of this purchase and use

-. At the risk of preventing criminals

? – All the real criminals are already equipped against this type of monitoring. Fonts are using Trojans for several years. These are just pigeons that are being had. Any citizen can protect themselves for 5 euros or buy himself a spy software to 200 euros. So I think the police should have the same opportunities as citizens and use this software, but in a strictly controlled, with precise specifications. It should also be an independent supervisory authority within the Federal Department of Justice or the Parliament, to exercise control and harmonize practices

-. What appeals to you in the Purchase Zurich

– What shocks me is our inability to produce ourselves such software. Why the federal authorities do not they appoint EPFL or ETH, which
have the best developers in the world, to create
a Trojan? Cantonal police were allowed to buy from an Italian company,
without control, without audit.
This poses a real problem of sovereignty! The canton of Zurich has an incredible opportunity that hacking took place shortly after purchasing the software. Imagine the outcry if
hackers had published data on individuals spied by the Zurich police …