Hackers’ Group CCC Blames German Government for Releasing Trojan

Chaos Computer Club (CCC), a popular group of German cybercriminals, has accused the country's government of letting go malicious program Trojan in the cyber world, according to a report of zdnet published on October 8, 2011. Security software provider F-Secure, supporting the allegations, said the group announced its remarks publicly in German via its website.

The group scrutinized the program and called it a 'lawful interception' malevolent job done by German police, the supplementary English post maintains.

The malicious software is not only able to drain off confidential information but it can also allow the uploading and execution of other capricious programs. Due to imperfections in design and implementation, the backdoor functionality to upload and execute arbitrary programs is easily available on the internet.

For instance, arbitrary programs can be uploaded from the Internet and executed remotely by the Trojan. This indicates that the upgrade path from malware Quellen-TKÜ to the full Bundestrojaner's functionality has been built-in since starting. Launching microphone or camera in the computer can be utilized for observing the room.

Labeling the Trojan as Troj/BckR2D2-A, Sophos, a security merchant, has also agreed with the CCC's observations and asserted that it can spy on discussions over Skype, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger. Also, it can register keystrokes in Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer and SeaMonkey, obtain JPEG pictures, and trace Skype audio calls.

However, the German government has not come out with a word on the program and related allegations. It is likely that the criminals, responsible for the malicious software, might have added some codes deliberately in order to make public think that the authorities are to be blamed.

Unfortunately, if the state is found guilty for the malware and the spying, then this would be openly against the German and EU law. If computers, being reconnoitered, are positioned outside Germany, then it also becomes a matter of serious concern.

Sadly, this is not for the first time that the German government was blamed with organizing malware. Few years back, the authorities were charged with using spiteful program to spy Afghanistan's Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Though the recent blames are perhaps even more serious, it could be difficult to prove whether or not the program was indeed released by the government.

Related article: Hackers Redirect Windows Live Search to Malicious Sites

» SPAMfighter News - 10/18/2011