Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by mrpg on Wednesday December 06 2017, @11:00AM   Printer-friendly
from the sure-why-not dept.

Germany's Interior Minister Wants Backdoors In Cars, Digital Devices

According to a new report from German newspaper Redaktions Netzwerk Deutschland (RND), Germany's Interior Minister, Thomas de Maizièr, has written a draft proposal in which he would like German cars, as well as other digital devices being sold in Germany, to grant police backdoor access. The minister is expected to present the proposal at next week's Ministry of Interior conference.

According to the RND report, the German minister would like intelligence agencies and police to gain "exclusive" access to cars, as well as digital devices such as computers, mobile devices, kitchen appliances, and smart TVs. The "back door" access would, in essence, allow the government to bypass the security protections some of these devices have. The police have been complaining that sometimes they can't install intercept equipment on some cars because their security systems are "too good."

Maizièr would also like cars and digital devices to have a "kill switch" the government can use at will to shut down certain devices, allegedly to stop cybercrime.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 06 2017, @04:13PM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 06 2017, @04:13PM (#606178)

    ...then these measures will not be required

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +1  
       Informative=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   1  
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by turgid on Wednesday December 06 2017, @05:02PM (4 children)

    by turgid (4318) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 06 2017, @05:02PM (#606208) Journal

    Don't be daft. They'll keep inventing new bogeymen as required.

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday December 06 2017, @07:30PM (3 children)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 06 2017, @07:30PM (#606316) Journal

      [_] Thoughtcrime (not yet available, but coming soon!)
      [x] Think Of The Children!
      [x] Terrorists
      [_] Eviodoers
      [_] Drug lords
      [_] War lords
      [_] Hippies
      [_] Communists
      [_] Axis of Evil

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by turgid on Wednesday December 06 2017, @08:53PM (2 children)

        by turgid (4318) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday December 06 2017, @08:53PM (#606387) Journal

        We have Thoughtcrime here in the UK already. They might not officially charge you with a crime, but they will take you away for questioning at the most inconvenient time and put you on a list of people to watch.

        There is a growing canon of literature known as "terrorist propaganda" that one dare not accidentally stumble upon lest one get added to one of these lists. You see, the problem is, some vulnerable people randomly become terrorists and it's difficult to predict. So what they do is use a very blunt instrument - if you look at something you might be going to turn into one eventually, who knows - they take you away and talk to you. Presumably this is to scare you out of becoming a terrorist (yes, quite).

        Now we have a collection of "forbidden literature" (banned books) that normal intelligent people with critical thinking skills may not read. Who is custodian of this list? Who decided what you may or may not look at? Do you feel lucky?

        Now that we are not allowed to use our own critical thinking skills and judgement, we just have to take it as a matter of faith that some things are bad, very bad, very exceedingly bad indeed. We need to be careful to avoid the forbidden literature. We just have to accept and do as we are told, and perhaps be glad that if we are wrongly inconvenienced, interrogated or even imprisoned that ultimately it's for our own good, and especially the good of our country. I'm a patriot. So are you. We have nothing to fear!

        The forbidden list may keep on growing and we may never know... We may be under surveillance and we may never know. I have nothing to hide! I'm stark naked under my clothes, after all.

        Does wikipedia have an entry for gunpowder? Does it list the ingredients? I don't know, and I daren't look. You're not allowed to search online for how to make explosives. You will be taken away for a chat, so the story goes.

        I really don't want to find out. I haven't the time to waste. PC Plod has no sense of humour, very poor social skills and a very authoritarian sense of judgement.

        Posted not as AC because, you know, free speech and irony.

  • (Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Thursday December 07 2017, @10:51AM

    by Anal Pumpernickel (776) on Thursday December 07 2017, @10:51AM (#606753)

    We should not sacrifice our liberties even in the face of actual threats. So these measures are only "required" if you possess an authoritarian mindset.