Germany’s foreign intelligence accused of spying on own citizens abroad

“BND, Germany’s foreign intelligence service, used a loophole in the law to snoop on the country’s citizens living abroad from 2000 to 2005, the former agency’s lawyer told German MPs.”

“Usually, there is law 'G10' which specifies high legal hurdles to cover before spying on German citizens, including when they live abroad. If these requirements aren’t met, then the data on them should be filtered from foreign communications received by BND. However, Dr. Stefan Burbaum told parliament about a loophole: a person was named 'office holder' if targeted.”

“BND also breached 'G10' legislation regarding telecom traffic, retaining some content the service hadn’t been authorized to check. So the law was turned into a 'foot in the door' for some data they wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise, Burbaum said.”

“The revelation comes shortly after the German government signed a 'no-spying contract' with Canadian smartphone company Blackberry. Under the agreement, German authorities are to audit Blackberry software. The company also has to reveal if they provide users’ information to foreign intelligence.”

More:

http://rt.com/news/210007-bnd-spying-abroad-intelligence/

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