BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — A new crime-fighting strategy under consideration by the European Union’s council of ministers backs the use of covert, remote surveillance of criminal suspects’ computers.In other words, the EU wants to make legal the use of normally illegal Trojans to keep track of bad guys suspected of engaging in a broad range of cybercrimes.

In a five-year plan unveiled in late November, EU ministers agreed closer cooperation between diverse law-enforcement agencies and task forces is necessary to combat crimes like hacking, phishing, spam, identity theft and child sexual exploitation. As part of the plan, the EU has earmarked 300,000 euros to be used by Interpol in establishing a central clearinghouse for information about crimes committed online.

According to notes from the ministers’ meeting, “Images of sexually abused children available online quadrupled in the last five years and half of all internet crime involves the production, distribution and sale of child pornography.”

Of course, the irony in all of this is that in order to catch the lawbreakers, authorities would have to engage in some lawbreaking themselves. The plan calls for breaking into alleged criminal networks and implanting stealth code within their boundaries. That’s easier said that done, according to experts who fear “hit-and-miss” implantations might leave innocent bystanders’ computers infected and their personal information exposed and subject to abuse. In addition, if the “legal” Trojan’s code fell into the wrong hands, nightmare scenarios could develop.

Also among the stumbling blocks to implementation is that the proposal assumes the cooperation of anti-malware vendors, some or most of whom might be unwilling to participate. Turning a blind eye to some suspicious code while warning customers about other threats not only could compromise anti-virus vendors’ reputations for thoroughness but also potentially leave gaping, exploitable holes in the AV products they deploy.

Regardless, the idea of a law-enforcement Trojan is gaining traction within the EU, particularly in Germany, and may become reality within five years.