FBI to gain expanded hacking powers as
Senate effort to block fails
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[December 01, 2016]
By Dustin Volz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A last-ditch effort
in the Senate to block or delay rule changes that would expand the U.S.
government's hacking powers failed Wednesday, despite concerns the
changes would jeopardize the privacy rights of innocent Americans and
risk possible abuse by the incoming administration of President-elect
Donald Trump.
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden attempted three times to delay the changes,
which will take effect on Thursday and allow U.S. judges will be able to
issue search warrants that give the FBI the authority to remotely access
computers in any jurisdiction, potentially even overseas. His efforts
were blocked by Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the Senate's
second-ranking Republican.
The changes will allow judges to issue warrants in cases when a suspect
uses anonymizing technology to conceal the location of his or her
computer or for an investigation into a network of hacked or infected
computers, such as a botnet.
Magistrate judges can currently only order searches within the
jurisdiction of their court, which is typically limited to a few
counties.
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In a speech from the Senate floor, Wyden said that the changes to Rule
41 of the federal rules of criminal procedure amounted to "one of the
biggest mistakes in surveillance policy in years."
The government will have "unprecedented authority to hack into
Americans' personal phones, computers and other devices," Wyden said.
He added that such authority, which was approved by the Supreme Court in
a private vote earlier this year, but was not subject to congressional
approval, was especially troubling in the hands of an administration of
President-elect Trump, a Republican who has "openly said he wants the
power to hack his political opponents the same way Russia does."
Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware and Republican Senator Steve
Daines of Montana also delivered speeches voicing opposition to the rule
changes.
The U.S. Justice Department has pushed for the changes to the federal
rules of criminal procedure for years, arguing they are procedural in
nature and the criminal code needed to be modernized for the digital
age.
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The word 'password' is pictured on a computer screen in this picture
illustration taken in Berlin May 21, 2013. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski
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In an effort to address concerns, U.S. Assistant Attorney General
Leslie Caldwell wrote a blog post this week arguing that the
benefits given to authorities from the rule changes outweighed any
potential for "unintended harm."
"The possibility of such harm must be balanced against the very real
and ongoing harms perpetrated by criminals - such as hackers, who
continue to harm the security and invade the privacy of Americans
through an ongoing botnet, or pedophiles who openly and brazenly
discuss their plans to sexually assault children," Caldwell wrote.
A handful of judges in recent months had dismissed evidence brought
as part of a sweeping FBI child pornography sting, saying the search
warrants used to hack suspects' computers exceeded their
jurisdiction.
The new rules are expected to make such searches generally valid.
Blocking the changes would have required legislation to pass both
houses of Congress, then be signed into law by the president.
(Reporting by Dustin Volz, editing by G Crosse)
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