German court rules against police computer hacking

BERLIN, Feb 5 (Reuters) A German court today banned the use of hidden spy software by police to monitor computer use by suspected terrorists, a setback to government attempts to boost the surveillance capabilities of security services.

The Federal Court of Justice, Germany's highest court of appeals, ruled that the clandestine monitoring of computers was illegal and did not fall under Germany's laws on wiretapping, but was subject to the rules that govern house searches.

When house searches are conducted, suspects have the right to appeal their scope and intensity and can have an attorney present during such searches, the court said.

The 11-page decision described how police officials investigating individuals suspected of terrorism or other crimes would want to hack into suspects' computers using a secretly-installed computer programme which would copy and transfer data to the investigators for analysis.

German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who has strongly supported the use of ''online searches'', voiced disappointment over the ruling and called on lawmakers to quickly pass legislation that would make police hacking legal.

''It is crucial that police officers have the possibility to secretly conduct online searches within the confines of the law,'' he said in a statement.

A Hamburg-based al Qaeda cell has been blamed for the September.

11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Since then, Germany has put on trial a number of radical Islamists.

REUTERS MS PM2113