security companies recently attended a conference of the United States are accused of offering his services to repressive regimes

in luxury in Washington, DC, hotel last month, governments around the world gathered to discuss surveillance technology does not know. Intelligence Systems Annual Conference Global Support (ISS) of the Americas is a Mecca for the representatives of intelligence agencies and law enforcement. However, for the media or the public is strictly prohibited.

Gone are the days when wiretaps do not meet the needs of the intelligence authorities. Behind the veil of secrecy at the World Conference of the ISS, tips are shared on the latest "lawful interception" the methods used to spy on citizens - piracy boring, covert GPS tracking. Phones, email, instant messaging and chat services like Skype has revolutionized the communication free. This was accompanied by the development of surveillance technologies become more sophisticated.

Pioneers Hampshire-based Gamma International, a major sponsor of the ISS Global. In April, Gamma made headlines when Egyptian militants raided the offices of state security in Cairo and Gamma had found documents revealing in 2010 that provides technology, Hosni Mubarak, the system of espionage called fish. The "IT intrusion" solutions proposed by Gamma would have allowed authorities to infect target computers with a virus spyware so you can secretly monitor Skype conversations and other communications.

The use of these methods is most often associated with criminal groups of hackers, who used spyware and Trojan viruses to infect computers and steal bank details or passwords . But as the Internet grew, intelligence agencies and law enforcement have adopted similar techniques.

"Traditionally, the communication was flowing through the telephone companies, but consumers are increasingly using communications that operate outside their jurisdictions. This changes the form of intervention is made in the method ... current choice seems to be spyware and Trojans, "said Chris Soghoian, a surveillance system based in Washington and an expert on privacy." There is now a thriving third-party monitoring and are there to meet the needs and wishes of countries worldwide, including those that are most - and least -. respectful of human rights "

In 2009, while a government employee, attended the World Soghoian ISS. He has made recordings of seminars and later posted - which led to him being under investigation and ultimately cost him his job at the Federal Trade Commission. The level of secrecy surrounding the sale of technology by Western companies, in their opinion, is cause for concern.

"When there are five or six conferences held in each year, where telecommunications companies, security firms and ministers are meeting in secret to do business, buy equipment, and discuss the latest methods of interception of its citizens - I believe that complies with the level of concern, "he said." They say they do with the best intentions. And they say they do it in a way that they have checks and balances and controls to ensure that these technologies are not abused. But history shows that decades of surveillance powers are -. commonly misused for political purposes "

Another company that annually serves Italian developer team monitoring the ISS Hacking world. A small software house based in Milan 35 employees, computer technology Piracy - which costs more than $ 500,000 for an "average plant" - gives the authorities the opportunity to go into computers or smart phones, allowing systems be controlled remotely. Secretly, you can turn the microphone on a target computer and even take pictures using your webcam underground, send images and audio, and any other information - such as emails, passwords and documents - again on the authorities to of inspection. The Smartphone version of the software has the ability to track the movements of a person by GPS, as well as perform a function that is described as "audio remote spy" by turning the phone into an outlet without the knowledge of their users. Venture capital supported by the company boasts that its technology can be used "throughout the country" to monitor more than 100 000 targets simultaneously and can not be detected by the anti-virus software.

"information such as address books and SMS messages, pictures or documents may never leave the unit. These data can be sent over the network. The only way to do is to modify the terminal, take control over it and finally, access to relevant data, "said David Vincenzetti, founding partner of the team Hacking, adding that the company sold its software in 30 countries on five continents." Our investors have formed a legal committee, which aims to rapidly and continually advise us on the situation in each country we are talking about. The Committee takes into account the United Nations resolutions, international treaties, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International recommendations. "

three weeks ago, the Berlin group of hackers Chaos Computer Club (CCC) has exposed a secret spy software used by the German police similar to that offered by the team of hackers. The "Bundestrojaner [Federal Trojan]" The software, confirmed that officials had been used, gave law enforcement the power to take complete control of an infected computer. The revelation caused an uproar in Germany, as the use of these methods is strictly regulated by the constitutional law of the country. (A court decision in 2008 established a "fundamental right to confidentiality and integrity of information technology ".)

"Much of what intelligence agencies have been made in recent years is essentially a computer infiltration, obtaining data from computers and install trojans on computers of others, "said Frank Rieger, a spokesman for the CCC. "It has become a part of the game, and what we see today is a diffusion of intelligence methods in the normal police work. We see the same thought progressive methods are illegal to use it to learn, but remember they are the police and they need to follow due process. "

"This tactic, which breaks into the computers of people who bother ... who make these arguments is good, that saves lives," he said. "But we have examples where this is not true. I was in Tunisia a couple of days and I met people who told me that the release of Facebook led death squads to appear in your home. "
growth in the use of these methods in the world, says Appelbaum, means governments now have a vested interest in maintaining computer users open to security breaches. "The intelligence [agencies] want to keep teams small and making it easier to follow," he said, adding that the increase in demand for this technology among the implementing agencies of the law is also concerned .