DSN boss wants better monitoring of cell phone communication

2/27/2023 4:24 pm (act. 2/27/2023 4:24 pm)

Haijawi-Pirchner wants better access to mobile apps ©APA/HERBERT NEUBAUER

The head of the State Security and Intelligence Directorate (DSN), Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, calls for better ways to access the content of messaging services. Of course, he doesn’t want to speak directly about a Trojan in “Standard”. You don’t need “full access to a device”, just certain apps.

Haijawi-Pircher argues that hardly anyone uses regular voice telephony anymore. Criminals and perpetrators use encrypted messengers like Telegram, Signal or Whatsapp: “We no longer have the opportunity to listen to this communication”. The other side always uses current technical possibilities: “We have to be on an equal footing. We are at the level of 2008”.

The head of the DSN sees danger from 50 to 60 high-risk individuals from the Islamic area. The right-wing extremist area has an equally high risk of attacks.

Haijawi-Pirchner is also concerned about the state-of-the-art weapons used in Ukraine’s war. When the war “hopefully ends at some point”, they are likely to fall into the wrong hands – namely, into the hands of organized crime and terrorism.