Germany pushes for cyber spy measures

BERLIN, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Germany's interior minister wants to use spy software to search potential suspects' computers without their knowledge, a plan that has drawn harsh criticism.

The cyber spying measure, launched by a so-called Trojan horse program attached to a disguised government e-mail message, would be part of a broader security law currently being considered by Chancellor Angela Merkel's grand coalition government.

The Berliner Zeitung newspaper said Friday that in special cases, prosecutors would be able to launch the measure without previously having to get a judicial green light.

Merkel is supportive of the bill, her spokesman Thomas Steg said Friday in Berlin, but added he expected a “difficult and intense discussion with the ministries, the coalition and the experts" over its realization and exact text.

Opposition and civil liberties groups have harshly protested the plan, which aims to protect Germany against terrorist attacks planned by domestic sleeper cells.

Max Stadler, a senior lawmaker with the opposition Free Democrats, in a TV interview called the proposal an unnecessary "invasion into the private sphere."