Activists Push Back Against FBI’s Worldwide Hacking Operation

[steven36]

UK-based activist group Privacy International has highlighted the international ramifications mass hacking operations.

 

 

In February 2015, the FBI embarked on the largest known law enforcement hacking operation to date, targeting over 8,000 computers in 120 countries. Lawyers in the US have challenged the legality of the underlying warrant, arguing that the judge had no authority to greenlight searches outside of her district.

Now, activist and legal group Privacy International has filed a brief in a related case, pushing back against the global nature of the FBI's operation. As Privacy International notes, 83 percent of the computer infections were outside of the United States.

 

 

"Well-established international law prohibits the government from undertaking law enforcement functions in other countries, without those countries' consent, which the government did not seek here," the amicus brief signed by Privacy International's General Counsel Caroline Wilson Palow reads.

 

 

Specifically this case concerns the FBI's investigation into a dark web child pornography site called Playpen. When the FBI seized the site in 2015, instead of shutting it down the agency kept Playpen running for 13 days. During this time, the FBI deployed a network investigative technique (NIT)—a piece of malware—in an attempt to identify visitors to the site. This NIT relied on a "non-public" vulnerability for the Tor Browser, and grabbed a target's IP address, MAC address, and other basic system information.

 

 

The FBI ended up hacking over 8,000 computers across the world, including over 1,000 in the US. Although much attention has been paid to affected cases in the US, there has been relatively little focus on the international legal ramifications. (Motherboard reported the FBI hacked computers in Australia, Austria, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Greece, and likely the UK, Turkey and Norway too.)

In its brief, Privacy International argues that much of the same concerns around affected cases in the US extends to those outside of the country—that at the time of the Playpen operation, Rule 41, which governs when judges can authorize searches, did not allow for searches outside of the judge's own district.

 

 

The group adds that these sort of international hacking operations, in which computers are targeted without the host country's permission, pose foreign relation risks. Such a move could lead to diplomatic conflict, or the possibility of breaking local laws. The brief points to a 2002 case, in which Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) filed criminal charges against an FBI agent for remotely accessing and copying data from a Russian server. (Ahmed Ghappour, visiting assistant professor at UC Hastings College of Law, has made related arguments in a recent paper).

 

 

"How will other countries react to the FBI hacking in their jurisdictions without prior consent? Would the U.S. welcome hacking operations on a similar scale carried out on U.S. residents by other countries? Is the FBI violating the laws of foreign jurisdictions by hacking devices located in them?" Scarlet Kim, legal officer at Privacy International wrote in a statement.

However, things have shifted since the Playpen investigation. In December 2016, changes around remote searches came into effect. Today, US magistrate judges can sign global hacking warrants.

 

By Joseph Cox

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/activists-push-back-against-fbis-worldwide-hacking-operation

 

[steven36]

Sounds like the FBi  is nuts too me  and they  was worried about hacking the whole world and  they cant even stop  people , places and things  in the  USA from being hacked , There job just like any other law enforcement  in the USA is to  protect  and serve the USA  witch they have been doing a poor job of as far as cyberspace goes. They need too let the NSA  and CIA handle foreign affairs because the FBI  was not designed for this before it all blows up in there face when other countries ends up suing the FBI  no law made in the USA can hold in other countries when push comes too shove. They need too be more defensive and less offensive when it comes too things outside of there country. The reason the FBi was made was too take out  the bad guys in the USA not outside it when state and local law fails to do there job right.

[straycat19]

8 minutes ago, steven36 said:

Sounds like the FBi  is nuts too me  and they  was worried about hacking the whole world and  they cant even stop  people , places and things  in the  USA from being hacked , There job just like any other law enforcement  in the USA is to  protect  and serve the USA  witch they have been doing a poor job of as far as cyberspace goes. They need too let the NSA  and CIA handle foreign affairs because the FBI  was not designed for this before it all blows up in there face when other countries ends up suing the FBI  no law made in the USA can hold in other countries when push comes too shove.

 

Actually, most of the time the FBI is working under the auspices of Interpol or in a joint investigation with another country's federal police.  The fact that this appears to be an overlap of NSA/CIA area of responsibility is not relevant.  The fact that there should be more cooperation among the three is well known but under our system of allocating resources, the organizations that show the most success receive the most funding, so the competition is for money, not necessarily for results, be they legal or illegal.  And the actual number of cyberattacks/cybercrimes that have been stopped are not reported.  The less attention a hacker or group gets the less motivation they have to continue.  The only time these are publicized is when they have to be in accordance with state or federal laws, which don't cover attempts.  Therefore it seems to many people that they aren't stopping hacks or attacks, but then they don't have a need to know, since these are classified, even if just FOUO (For Official Use Only).

[steven36]

1 hour ago, straycat19 said:

 

Actually, most of the time the FBI is working under the auspices of Interpol or in a joint investigation with another country's federal police.  The fact that this appears to be an overlap of NSA/CIA area of responsibility is not relevant.  The fact that there should be more cooperation among the three is well known but under our system of allocating resources, the organizations that show the most success receive the most funding, so the competition is for money, not necessarily for results, be they legal or illegal.  And the actual number of cyberattacks/cybercrimes that have been stopped are not reported.  The less attention a hacker or group gets the less motivation they have to continue.  The only time these are publicized is when they have to be in accordance with state or federal laws, which don't cover attempts.  Therefore it seems to many people that they aren't stopping hacks or attacks, but then they don't have a need to know, since these are classified, even if just FOUO (For Official Use Only).

The FBI under Obama was a  Joke  they was hacked many times during those 8 years themselves ..  There going back too using snail mail and stuff now because they cant even protect themselves  , Too much stuff was in the media and stuff.Obama was pro liberal media   .. It shows you cant relay on the internet for  classified stuff . If  what the FBI done would been kept classified like it was meant too be no one would even known  and they would never changed that law  because they been doing it  since right after 9-11 .. Only reason people know what they know about NSA was because Snowden leaked info too the press ..

 

They found a mole in the FBI leaking trade secrets  You don't never hear of stuff like this leaking out in countries like Russia or China  what there spies do. tell someone in the USA gets hacked then they blame it on some  Government ..Even Trump said this were talking about the same people who started IRAQ war with just a hunch and never found what they looking for . Bush has blood on his hands  over some Oil because he gave the orders too kill all those people they should of not been but one war after 9-11.

 

The other month you was talking about how that guy could be sued about making that  documentary about Stuxnet Operation

 

No he cant the person who leaked all that out was Obama's own General

Obama's General' Pleads Guilty to Leaking Stuxnet Operation

http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/10/17/obamas-general-pleads-guilty-to-leaking-stuxnet-operation/

 

All the stuff in the media  about the FBI hacking too catch a few pedos  witch they all need too be put in jail ..Really they need some good southern justice and be hanged ..I don't need  too know how they was caught just that they have been caught . The fact is while everyone was focusing  on what the FBI  was doing with Apple and TOR  the USA government was being left wide open too Attack under Obama that showed what a great leader he was, I never even used a VPN before he came in  and now 6 strikes fell out as soon as he left and those trade agreements  Hollywood was looking for  too fund them is dead in the water . See i never even cared about privacy tell he got in there and messed everything up.

 

Since Trump  been in,  California already  done more than the whole 8 years  by cracking down on Human Trafficking  lets wipe them off the streets that's how you do it.

New York was able too reduce crime a lot if they can any city can and if there not it means there being ran by crooked cops and officials.