On Friday last
week, German media reported that government computers had obviously
fallen prey to a Chinese hacker attack using Trojans.
Of
course, one might wonder about the state of German government
IT-departements, after - some months ago and
deplorably enough - files were deleted which contained crucial
evidence on whether German special units had conducted their tasks
lawfully in Afghanistan and possibly about their role in Gitmo.
Well, it seems
that if Germans decide to make a laugh of themselves they go about it
just as thoroughly as about any business.
Instead of
trying to keep damage as limited as possible under the circumstances,
they decided not only to publish the fact alleging the Chinese
government for the attacks. They also revealed the fact that
obviously right up to the center of power, the Bundeskanzleramt, all
infrastructure is linked to the public Internet. Obviously, without
meaningful scanning of mail attachments.
The
story gets an amusing
twist against the backdrop that German Interior Minister, Wolfgang
Schäuble, has been tirelessly propagating spying on citizens
using Trojans (dubbed Bundestrojaner in political debates).
A measure
which most users probably fear less now than before.
In
the meantime, the Chinese government, in the runup to chancellor
Merkel's visit, has pledged to stop all attacks. If only all hackers
were such nice guys. Maybe talking to them works wonders for the rest
of us, too. After all, empathy could
be the key to enhanced security.
Tags: Germany | China | Computer | hacking | IT | Security | Trojans
