Upgrade for the Schengen Information System

The European Union is restructuring its police database landscape. Existing systems are being merged and supplemented by new ones. The number of authorised users is also increasing. Following technical changes, the relevant Council working groups are now being reorganised.

The European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems (eu-LISA) has carried out an upgrade for the Schengen Information System (SIS II). With version 9.3.0, the database managed by the Agency based in Tallinn, technically implements its three new regulations. In future, Europol, Eurojust and Frontex will also be able to query all types of alerts in the system, including „discreet searches“.

A total of 26 EU Member States participate in SIS II, plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Last year, the database contained 81 million objects and around 900 thousand persons. In 2017, most entries (20 million) came from Italy, followed by France (11 million) and Germany (over 10 million). In 2017, the system was queried five billion times, mostly by border, police and immigration authorities. In 2018, the number of hits rose to six billion, according to eu-LISA. „Upgrade for the Schengen Information System“ weiterlesen

New German military exercises with Israel

The Israeli military trains cyber attacks in Germany, the German air force simulates the fight for water and natural resources in the Negev desert

The German Armed Forces are planning a joint cybermaneuver with the Israeli military. The exercise entitled „Multi-Lateral Cyber Defence Exercise 20“ (MLCD20) is to take place in Germany in August, with units from Austria and Switzerland also taking part. This was stated by the Ministry of Defence in response to a written question by left-wing MP Andrej Hunko. So far, nothing is known about the scenarios. During such exercises, attacks are simulated by so-called „Red Teams“ and countered by „Blue Teams“.

Parliamentary State Secretary Peter Tauber did not want to disclose which departments the foreign armed forces would send, despite being asked. In Israel, intelligence gathering in cyberspace is carried out by the military „Unit 8200“. According to Israeli media reports, the unit is now also responsible for cyber attacks. „New German military exercises with Israel“ weiterlesen

Laws against morphing

The European Union wants to prevent the forgery of passport photos. Particularly parents pay for this.

The German government has announced a new law for passports and identity cards. Photographs for their application shall only be taken under the supervision of employees of the responsible authority. The coalition of Social Democrats and Conservatives wants to prevent so-called morphing in this way. The method means the computer-generated merging of two or more facial images into a single overall image. The facial features are partially retained, but they blend with the contours of other people. This makes it difficult or impossible to use the photos for automated face recognition.

At the offices, the applicants themselves should be responsible for taking the photographs. The approximately 5,500 passport and identity card authorities in Germany are to be equipped with 11,000 self-service kiosks for this purpose. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the terminals, which are manufactured by companies such as Bundesdruckerei, among others, will cost 177 million euros. „Laws against morphing“ weiterlesen

EU Entry/Exit System: Border police purchases new biometric control technologies

An EU regulation forces travellers from third countries to leave their fingerprints and facial image when crossing the border. All Member States must therefore invest in new infrastructure at land, sea and air borders. Because checks therefore take longer, authorities are procuring self-service kiosks for handing in biometric data.

More than two years ago, in November 2017, the European Union adopted the regulation establishing an „Entry/Exit System“ (EES). All third-country nationals, whether they require a visa or are exempt from the visa requirement, will soon be recorded with their biometric data when they cross an external Schengen border. This is intended to identify so-called „overstayers“, which refers to persons who overrun their visa and do not leave the country within the prescribed period. The electronic registration will also replace the manual stamping of passports.

In addition to personal data and identity documents, four fingerprints, the facial image and the date and place of entry and exit of travellers who have not applied for a visa are processed in the EES. If the travellers have already submitted their fingerprints when applying for a visa, these will also be imported. „EU Entry/Exit System: Border police purchases new biometric control technologies“ weiterlesen

Europol Study: Disclosure of electronic evidence often fails due to incompetence of authorities

The planned EU e-Evidence regulation is intended to force Internet service providers to cooperate more with police and judicial authorities. However, a survey shows that the companies already comply with their requests voluntarily. But they are often incorrect and thus rejected.

The police from Germany, France and Great Britain request by far the most data from Internet service providers. This is the result of a study by the SIRIUS project, which Europol has published on its website. 38% of all requests (67,991) come from German authorities. Although the so-called G6 countries (Germany, France, the UK, Poland, Spain and Italy) represent half of the EU population, their authorities are responsible for around 90% of crossborder internet surveillance activities.

The SIRIUS platform located at the police agency Europol in The Hague is intended to facilitate the exchange of knowledge on electronic evidence. Via a secure connection, authorities in all EU member states can obtain information on how to query Internet service providers. This applies to traffic, user and content data, which are released in different ways. SIRIUS also contains instructions for „Open Source Internet Searches“ (OSINT) and for conducting queries on user data from various service providers. This enables the persons behind IP addresses or mail accounts to be determined. „Europol Study: Disclosure of electronic evidence often fails due to incompetence of authorities“ weiterlesen

The tracking bug in your pocket: Mobile phone surveillance in Germany

Procedures according to §§ 100 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) to determine the whereabouts and identification of mobile phones in Germany

In addition to telecommunications surveillance (§ 100a StPO) and online searches (§ 100b StPO), German police authorities use technical means within the framework of §§ 100 StPO to determine the location of mobile phones. These include the so-called „silent SMS“, IMSI-Catcher and cell site analysis. Customs and the secret services are also partially authorised to perform these tasks. Six-monthly parliamentary inquiries in the Bundestag document that the number of measures for federal authorities has remained at about the same level in recent years. According to the figures of individual states, the investigative methods under Sections 100 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are in some cases used much more frequently there than by federal authorities. Some measures for the localisation of telephone owners are in a grey area and have led to legal adjustments. A ruling by the Federal Court of Justice last year could be the reason why the figures for „silent SMS“ have suddenly fallen sharply. Some federal states are currently merging into „Joint Competence and Service Centres“ in the field of police telecommunications surveillance (GKDZ), which are being set up in Hamburg and Leipzig/Dresden. It is possible that with these centralised GKDZs, the number of measures for telecommunications surveillance within the framework of §§ 100 StPO will increase further. „The tracking bug in your pocket: Mobile phone surveillance in Germany“ weiterlesen

„Global Hawk“: New NATO drones fly over Italy, France and Germany

In the next six months NATO will launch its first unmanned surveillance programme. Yesterday, the second of five drones arrived in Sicily. For the first time, it is known where the aircraft are to fly.

NATO’s five „Global Hawk“ are to fly in Italian, French and German airspace. The HALE class drones will use a corridor that was originally set up for the US Air Force’s identical „Global Hawk“. This is confirmed by the Ministry of Defense in response to a parlamentarian question. The corridor leads from Sicily to the Baltic Sea and is located at an altitude of 15 to 20 kilometres. Besides Italy and Germany, the high-flying NATO drones also cross France. „„Global Hawk“: New NATO drones fly over Italy, France and Germany“ weiterlesen

Drone power Turkey

For many years, only the USA, Israel and Great Britain used armed drones. Now Turkey is ahead in the everyday use and sale of the weapons.

Last week, the government in Ankara transferred an armed drone to Northern Cyprus. This makes Turkey one of those countries whose military is stationing drones outside its territory. The „Bayraktar TB2“ had landed at the Geçitkale military airport near Famagusta after a five-hour flight from a Turkish air base in Dalaman. This was preceded by a permit from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. According to the Turkish government, unarmed drones were also flown to Famagusta for reconnaissance, and according to Turkish newspapers, more will follow.

The „Bayraktar TB2“ is intended to secure Turkish gas drillings off the island, which has been divided since 1974, and to exert pressure on Cyprus and Greece, which are claiming gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean. The move is also likely to be directed against Israel after the Turkish navy intercepted an Israeli research vessel recently. Turkish Transportation Minister Tolga Atakan described the deployment as a reaction to the purchase of Israeli drones by Cyprus. To monitor its exclusive economic zone, the government in Nicosia had purchased four „Aerostar“ drones from the company Aeronautics for 13 million euros in October. With a take-off weight of 230 kilograms, they are significantly lighter than the „Bayraktar TB2“, but with a payload of 50 kilograms they carry a similar payload. Both drones have a range of around 200 kilometres. „Drone power Turkey“ weiterlesen

Frontex stations long-endurance drones in the Mediterranean Sea

For the next two years, the EU Commission is looking for an operator of large drones at airports in Malta, Italy or Greece. They should remain in the air for at least 20 hours and carry up to 230 kilograms of surveillance equipment. The high requirements are likely to lead to a competition between companies from the USA and Israel.

The new Frontex regulation came into force on 4 December. The border agency of the European Union wants to build up a „Standing Corps“ of 10,000 police officers by 2027. In this way, Frontex is to become a „European Border Police“ and will be given powers that were previously reserved for the EU member states. The agency, based in Warsaw, can now conduct its own operations and use police coercive measures. This affects joint operations at the EU’s external borders as well as deportations. „Frontex stations long-endurance drones in the Mediterranean Sea“ weiterlesen

Border with Turkey: EU Commission wants to track down refugees with „foliage detection“

A EU research project is testing the combination of different surveillance technologies on refugees. This involves telephone and motion detectors, cameras, radar systems, electromagnetic sensors as well as eavesdropping microphones. In addition to drones, „stratospheric platforms“ will also be used.

On its research website, the EU Commission states that „irregular migration has dramatically increased, and is no longer manageable with existing systems“. This is why the Commission wants to improve the detection of undocumented border crossings with new technology. The focus is on densely wooded land borders, which are difficult to monitor with patrols. The security research project is entitled „Through-foliage detection, including in the outermost regions of the EU“ (FOLDOUT) and is led by the Austrian Institute of Technology. Among those involved are the French armaments group Thales and border police forces from Bulgaria, Finland, Lithuania and Poland. „Border with Turkey: EU Commission wants to track down refugees with „foliage detection““ weiterlesen