German Police Deployed State Spyware Every Five Days in 2024

• German law enforcement authorities recorded a record 79 deployments of state spyware in 2024, with 129 operations authorized.
• Despite political justifications citing terrorism and serious violent crimes, the primary driver for these surveillance measures remains drug-related offenses.
• Data from the Federal Office of Justice shows a consistent year-over-year increase in the use of state hacking tools since tracking began six years ago.

Spyware Categories and Enforcement

• 'Small' Spyware (Source-TKÜ): Used for telecommunications interception; 97 cases were authorized and 64 were carried out. North Rhine-Westphalia led with 25 operations.
• 'Large' Spyware (Online Search): Used for full device access; 32 cases were authorized and 15 were executed, marking an all-time record.

Regional and Procedural Highlights

• Federal Public Prosecutor: Executed two 'large' spyware operations, primarily targeting criminal/terrorist organizations and high treason.
• Bavaria: Conducted 5 'large' spyware operations, focusing on drug crimes and murder.
• North Rhine-Westphalia: Conducted 4 'large' spyware operations, primarily related to extortion and war weapons offenses.
• Hamburg: Executed 2 'large' spyware operations linked to crimes against sexual self-determination.

Implications and Tooling

• Critics argue that maintaining state-controlled surveillance backdoors compromises overall cybersecurity by discouraging the patching of vulnerabilities.
• Authorities utilize various tools, including the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA)'s internally developed software, FinSpy, and NSO Group’s Pegasus.
• Government policies are moving toward further expansion of state hacking powers, including surveillance of individuals who have not yet committed a crime and authorization for authorities to engage in retaliatory hacking during cyberattacks.