FBI's Hacks Don't Comply With Legal Safeguards

An anonymous reader writes: The FBI hacks computers. Specifics are scarce, and only a trickle of news has emerged from court filings and FOIA responses. But we know it happens. In a new law review article, a Stanford Ph.D. candidate and privacy expert pulls together what's been disclosed, and then matches it against established law. The results sure aren't pretty. FBI agents deceive judges, ignore time limits, don't tell computer owners after they've been hacked, and don't get 'super-warrants' for webcam snooping. Whatever you think of law enforcement hacking, it probably shouldn't be this lawless.

Comments

Surprise?

[Anonymous Coward]

Is there anyone in the world who does not believe the American CIA/FBI/NSA don't spy on whoever they want without regard to the legal process? When you have that kind of power and secrecy, you use it. And you don't let some pesky 200+ year old document stop you. Warrants are a mere formality; by the time they get around to getting one they already have the info they want. All the warrant is for is to make it legally admissible in court.

Re:Surprise?

[bill_mcgonigle]

And why shouldn't they? Do you think a single person will see a minute in prison for this?

Knowledge is advantage is power - of course they will abuse their position - they have no incentive not to.

Re:Surprise?

[dcollins117]

When "law enforcement officials" break the law it makes it hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys.

Unwarranted surveillance means we are all considered suspects. We are not citizens anymore, we are suspects. What incentive do we have to cooperate with LEO?.

Re:Surprise?

[ihtoit]

who gives a fuck if it's republicrat or fucking fraggle ruled?? The point is it's fucked, partisan division be damned.

Re:Surprise?

[Anonymous Coward]

You are naive. These folks know EXACTLY what is going on. They are on the side of the american electro-Tshekists. Don't assume most people are noble. Most people are nasty bastards who want people with different political convictions to be fought with any means possible. Including illegal surveillance.

Especially the "progressives". All of them have a little Felix Tshershinsky deep inside of them. "As long as it is for a good end, well, use illegal means to squash the opposition". Just look at O'Bummer - he is a "human rights activist", but a treating dissenters like Pfc Manning worse than this was ever handled. Obama himself ordered the sleep deprivation of Pfc Manning. All the lefties have "rationalized" that criminal action for a "good end" somehow is O.K.

And the Republicans who support the american Tsheka, well - they are deep down communists, too.

So they are behaving like criminals

[gweihir]

Only that they have those in power behind them. When law enforcement is not bound by law anymore, that is a police state, the precursor to a totalitarian state. The signs are well-known from past occurrences, as is the further story: Unless constrained very tightly by the law again, these people will eventually cause a total catastrophe. Checks and balances are not fluff, they are essential to keep the likes of these people in check.

SHOCKING!

[SeaFox]

Haven't we been reading about this for a few years now? LEO's not following the law when it comes to wiretaps and obtaining information from companies about customers they believe are connected to crimes they are investigating.

There's one thing missing in all these stories -- people at those agencies being held responsible for their actions.

FBI: "So What!"

[Anonymous Coward]

The FBI doesn't give a shit about the law or the rules. Who's going to stop them?

You can't sue, because you can't prove you have standing. They use their illicitly gathered evidence to parallel-construct a case without ever revealing whatever hacks they used. They classify volumes of information to hide evidence of their own wrongdoing. They use secret tools like stingrays to gather secret evidence which they attempt to present in secret, sealed and off the record. And in the event that an "activist judge" calls them on it, they withdraw the evidence so as not to have it revealed, and then re-file charges a month later to go shopping for a different judge.

The police state is strong in America. Hoover is jizzing in his grave, I'm sure.

Re:FBI: "So What!"

[Tokolosh]

This is inevitable when the checks and balances are absent. And the checks and balances are completely AWOL. The judges have completely collapsed in the face of their duty to uphold the law and the Constitution.

Yes, the FBI is comprised of a bunch of kids from Lord of the Flies, but the judiciary must be called out, too. Some naming and shaming of judges is in order. I'm looking at you, SCOTUS, for starters.

Amusing

[nehumanuscrede]

I find it odd that we're supposed to follow the rule of law, yet the very ones in charge of enforcing those laws seem to have no qualms at all about breaking them whenever it suits their needs. All under the guise of "protecting" us from $evilplot of course. :|

In the end, Orwell was right I guess. Some animals are more equal than others.

The sensible thing would be to take it away

[Opportunist]

Just as we get to see for us plebs. Some people are unfit for handling certain responsibilities, so it gets taken away. From chemicals to electronic devices to fireworks and even certain kinds of ammunition and weapons. Outlawed because there have been some idiots who can't handle the responsibility.

So the FBI has shown that it cannot handle the responsibility to use the tools provided sensibly. Then they should have to do without them. Yes, that makes your life a bit harder and your job a bit more complicated, but sorry, it seems you are unfit of using the better tools, so get used to the inferior ones.

And be glad that we don't take that shit away too!

That's what would happen if the FBI was some sort of private organization or even a private person. Sadly, they are part of the government, so they are allowed to be as incompetent, obnoxious and destructive as they please without any repercussions.