Supreme Court Makes Landmark Decision Extending FBI Hacking Powers
The FBI won the first part of what is deemed to be a long and tedious war ahead against information technology after the Supreme Court handed out its decision to extend the bureau's hacking abilities. The decision specifically allows federal judges to issue hacking warrants for the purpose of federal law enforcement in U.S. jurisdiction.
The decision provides that the hacking warrants are essential in instances when a suspect of a crime attempts to hide his or her location. And along this line, the court also gave the FBI the authority to access a computer system even without the owner's permission. This applies to systems that have been illegally hacked by private individuals.
Although this is a huge blow to the concept of privacy in the perspective of IT, there still is a chance for the US Congress to block the expansion of powers given to the bureau. Well, at least the legislative body has until December to do something about it since the changes are to take effect by the end of the year. One of the staunchest critics of the changes to "Rule 41" is Senator Ron Wyden, who said, via the Guardian, that he is looking to file a bill that will block the move of the Supreme Court.
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The digital age certainly has put the constitutional right against unreasonable searches by the government on the edge. While it is quite true that computers and the internet have become a tool for criminals to broaden their scope for searching victims and carrying out their crimes, the manner to which the government is meddling with the private affairs and correspondence of individuals is rapidly crossing the bounds of the right afforded by the constitution.
Right now, US Congress now has a small window of opportunity, specifically seven months to do something within its powers to figure out a way to either block the rule or institute changes to it.
