Trojan software: British complaint for Gamma International – Heise News Ticker

(photo: dpa, Jochen Luebke)

The Trojan software of gamma violates respect for human rights. Gamma is associated with this complaint the British OECD contact point plotted for the future to incorporate an effective protection of human rights in the Software.

The British Ministry of Economy has a complaint against the German-British company Gamma International pronounced. This was in breach with the software or FinFisher FinSpy to that specified in the OECD guidelines, respect for human rights. To gamma various civil rights organizations had initiated an OECD complaint procedure in June 2013, after IT experts were able to demonstrate gamma monitoring software on computers Bahraini opposition.

violation of the OECD Guidelines

In the detailed basis for imploring holds the Ministry established as a national OECD Contact Point (NCP) of Great Britain, that gamma infringed four OECD Guidelines. So there was some in the company no Uncommitted human rights rules, as required by the OECD. The reasoning of Gamma, was an attempt to develop this in partnership with the Electronic Frountier Foundation, evaluated the NCP to be incorrect, because similar rules to the website of Gamma could not be found. The further NCP edition, now incorporate a human rights protection in the software is more symbolic: Comparison of NCPs, the British Gammagroup claims to have given up the software business

On the question whether gamma. any software sold to Bahrain, with the then opposition were monitored, there was no assessment by the NCP. Gamma had denied a request by the NCP any access to its business records on the grounds of wanting to jeopardize any business partner. This is a practice that “according to information from British intelligence sources” – according to the NPS in its assessment – applies to all companies offering software for “lawful interception”. Since OECD contact points have no investigative powers, only an analysis of public sources was possible. The allegations of the gamma-manager Martin Munch, a Bahrain-chopped demo version is been used, which was also stolen at an exhibition for monitoring technique in Dubai, we have neither refute nor confirm it says in the NCP complaint.

civil complaint cost as a success

Despite this limitation evaluate both privacy International complainant as well as the civil rights complaint involved the decision taken as a success. Thus, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) provides confirmed in the assessment of the illegal practices of gamma. “At the same time, the use of an extensive restriction on the export of surveillance technology to authoritarian states must go on,” said Reporters Without Borders CEO Christian Mihr. By the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights declared the lawyer Miriam Saage-Maass that the German gamma daughter FinFisher Labs in Munich must be based on the NCP complaint. This is a step forward in view of the fact that the German OECD NCP had rejected a similar complaint against Trovicor in December 2013 by the Federal Ministry of Economics. ( Detlef Borchers ) / (mho)