In what is being termed as an `outrageous' use of a "Bundestrojaner" - or "Federal Trojan" - by the government, a German-based hacker group called Chaos Computer Club has said that the cyber-sleuth Trojan was apparently being used to clandestinely keep an eye on the Internet travels, e-mails, and chats of the people.

Pointing out that "Bundestrojaner" was apparently developed with the objective of assisting officials in the interception of Internet phone calls via lawful wiretaps, the hackers alleged that the government had clearly gone far beyond the permissible purposes of the software.

Despite the fact that the wiretap regulations in Germany actually allow the use of a "Bundestrojaner" to help the police officials record VoIP conversations as well as IM chats of criminal or terrorist suspects, the hackers are of the opinion that the `backdoor' functions of the software - including its capability to download updates from the internet, snoop on IM chats log keystrokes, and take screenshots - far exceed what is permitted under German law.

The hacking group is demanding that the Trojan should be destroyed without more ado --- more so because security firm Sophos has said that the authorities have refrained from confirming whether the Trojan was written by the German state.

Claiming that the incident underscores that an "effective separation of just wiretapping internet telephony and a full-blown Trojan" is almost impossible, a spokesperson of the hacking group said: "Our analysis revealed once again that law enforcement agencies will overstep their authority if not watched carefully."