Schlagwort: France

EU database: European domestic secret services increasingly hunt abroad

50,000 people are under secret surveillance throughout Europe by the French police, another 50,000 are to be checked during routine police operations or when crossing the EU border. In the field of secret services, this wanted list is headed by Germany. Requests for such clandestine observation can also come from third countries.

More than 1,500 persons are being observed by the German secret service with the help of the Schengen Information System (SIS II) throughout Europe, the Federal Ministry of the Interior writes in an overview. Entries are made by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), which is the leading office in the field of clandestine observations in Europe. Secret services in France and Great Britain have each posted slightly less than 1,500 persons, Sweden 625, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic around 500.

The SIS II has been used for 25 years by border, police, customs and immigration authorities as well as secret services from 26 EU Member States including Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Last year, almost one million people were wanted from these countries in the SIS II, for example, with a European arrest warrant or for missing persons. However, most entries concern persons who are subject to an entry ban after their deportation. Article 36 of the SIS II Council Decision covers with 168,000 in total a relatively large proportion of these one million, and the number is increasing significantly every year. „EU database: European domestic secret services increasingly hunt abroad“ weiterlesen

Ukraine and Serbia are new European drone powers

Four European states now have armed drones, two of which already use them to combat „terrorism“. Another four might consider to weaponize units which have already been ordered, including Germany. All leading manufacturers of unmanned weapons systems from the USA, China, Turkey and Israel could then be represented in Europe.

The Serbian government has received a delivery of armed drones from China. Six CH-92A („Rainbow“) drones and 18 air-to-ground missiles arrived at a military airport near Belgrade a few days ago, according to local media.

The two systems are comprised of three drones each and the respective ground stations. Serbia had ordered a total of nine drones, which together are said to have cost around 27 million Euros. According to reports, a follow-up order for a further 15 drones has been agreed. „Ukraine and Serbia are new European drone powers“ weiterlesen

Ten-year project: Interpol renews its information systems

The international police organisation wants to turn a „data tsunami“ into „actionable intelligence“. The 12-year-old wording shows how outdated Interpol’s databases are. The modernization is led by the former German BKA vice-president. The German Ministry of the Interior is financing a considerable part of the new IT architecture.

In a „Policing Capability Enhancement Programme“ (I-CORE), Interpol intends to completely renew its information technology and improve the networking of existing data. The programme was unanimously approved by the 194 member states at the Interpol General Assembly in October 2019 in Santiago de Chile.

„I-CORE“ is to be implemented in several stages by 2030 and will cost the equivalent of around 80 million euros. Now the international police organisation based in Lyon is looking for sponsors for individual projects. Interpol has a very tight budget, which is financed by its members and has no room for modernizations like „I-CORE“. „Ten-year project: Interpol renews its information systems“ weiterlesen

SPECTRE Project: EU finances technology for undercover investigations

Police forces from 34 countries have been investigating criminal networks in South Eastern Europe since 2017, money comes from the Internal Security Fund of the European Union. In addition to all kinds of espionage and wiretapping technology, they also pay informers.

For undercover investigations, European police forces use miniaturized surveillance technology, but usually remain extremely secretive about how it works. Since 2017, spy cameras, pocket microphones, mini drones and other equipment have also been procured through an EU project. This is why the European Commission had to provide details of the small devices in response to a parliamentary question. „SPECTRE Project: EU finances technology for undercover investigations“ weiterlesen

Nouvelle unité de police franco-allemande

La Police Fédérale allemande (Bundespolizei) et la Gendarmerie Nationale ont instauré une „Unité opérationnelle franco-allemande“ (DFEE/UOFA). L‘arrangement pour une telle troupe avait été lancé dans le cadre du contrat d‘Aix-la-Chapelle. Les détails sont réglés dans une convention administrative.

L‘unité est dédiée aux interventions dans des „états-tiers francophones“, durant de grands évenements et dans la „zone frontalière commune“. Pour l‘instant la UOFA est composée de dix membres de la police fédérale allemande et de dix membres de la Gendarmerie. Au cours de cette année, elle doit être étendue à 15 membres de chaque pays. Du côté allemand, les polici·ères viendraient de la caserne de Bad Bergzabern en Rhénanie-Palatinat. „Nouvelle unité de police franco-allemande“ weiterlesen

Clearview AI: What does Interpol use face recognition for?

The International Police Organisation is developing a system to identify unknown persons by facial images. Interpol stores photos and videos from Internet service providers and other companies in a separate database. Interpol has also been using Clearview services for face recognition.

The US company Clearview AI has collected around three billion personal images from the Internet and used them to create a facial recognition database. This was reported in the New York Times six weeks ago. Most of the pictures were taken from social media profile photos, and it is likely that Clearview will also store the corresponding user data. Clearview offers companies and government agencies the option of identifying individuals by querying the database. According to reports, the facial images can also be searched with a photo app, which according to the New York Times is distributed among „rich people“.

The U.S. magazine Buzzfeed has obtained a client list from Clearview. It contains over 2,200 companies, governments and police authorities, including Interpol. The worldwide police organization has conducted more than 320 searches. „Clearview AI: What does Interpol use face recognition for?“ weiterlesen

Frontex wants to disembark refugees in Senegal

„Hera“ is the only Frontex maritime mission on the territory of a third country. A new agreement might extend this joint border surveillance

The EU border agency Frontex wants to bring back refugees picked up in the Atlantic Ocean to Senegal. The EU Commission should therefore negotiate a so-called Status Agreement with the government in Dakar. The proposal can be found in the annual report on the implementation of the Regulation for the surveillance of external sea borders. It regulates the maritime „operational cooperation“ of Frontex with third countries.

It would be the first agreement of this kind with an African government. So far, Frontex has only concluded Status Agreements with a number of Western Balkan countries for the joint surveillance of land borders. The only operation to date in a third country was launched by the Border Agency in Albania a year ago. „Frontex wants to disembark refugees in Senegal“ weiterlesen

France and Germany launch new joint police force

Together with the Gendarmerie Nationale, the German Federal Police will be sent to former French colonies. The joint unit is already deployed during summit protest, football matches and in „border areas“

At present, the German Federal Police sends around 200 officers on missions outside the European Union. In „Police Reconstruction Aid“, they are working as „trainers, mentors and observers“. The Federal Police also regularly train police forces in third countries, mostly in the field of air and border security and the recognition of false identity documents. In Africa, the Federal Police is particularly active in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco. In the summer, German officers travelled to Niger for an „exchange of experience“.

Now the German government want to extend its police engagement in Africa to former French colonies. The operations will be carried out within the framework of the new „Franco-German Task Force“ („Deutsch-Französische Einsatzeinheit“, DFEE) with the French National Gendarmerie. The two governments had agreed the set up as a „joint unit for stabilisation operations in third countries“ in the Treaty of Aachen. On the German side, the DFEE is stationed at the Federal Police in Bad Bergzabern in Rhineland-Palatinate, in France at the Prefecture of Grand Est in Metz. „France and Germany launch new joint police force“ weiterlesen

Classified documents: Great Britain has been massively violating Schengen rules for years

Because of serious breaches, British participation in Europe’s SIS II should have been terminated long ago. With two years delay, the Commission now made proposals to remedy the shortcomings. This fuels the suspicion that the country should continue to participate in the database despite having left the EU.

The Schengen Information System (SIS II) is the largest European information system and currently contains around 90 million entries. In 2015, the EU Commission has granted access to Great Britain. However, the country is not a member of the Schengen Agreement, which regulates the abolition of border controls within the European Union, nor does it implement the free movement of persons. For this reason, British authorities are not allowed to enter or query data in the SIS II concerning irregular migration.

But Great Britain is misusing the SIS II on a large scale. The European Commission is aware of, but does not want to talk openly about it. This emerges from the reply to a parliamentary question and leaked documents on the UK implementation of the SIS II rules. Nevertheless, British authorities were given green light in 2018 to still participate in the database. „Classified documents: Great Britain has been massively violating Schengen rules for years“ 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