Senator Calls for Federal Oversight to Investigate Government Use of Hacking Tools

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden is calling on the U.S. government to reevaluate how federal law enforcement agencies employ hacking tools and spyware against American citizens, emphasizing a concerning lack of transparency regarding the usage frequency and justification for such actions.

On Friday, Wyden sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), which audits the federal government, asking for a comprehensive investigation into the practices of agencies like the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Secret Service in relation to their use of hacking and spyware in investigations.

In his letter, shared with TechCrunch, Wyden noted that although these tools have been used for over 20 years, “very little public information is available about their extent, usage frequency, or the safeguards implemented during their operations.”

Wyden pointed out that, unlike wiretaps and pen registers—tools that allow law enforcement to track call durations and participants—the government “does not provide annual reports on hacking activities.” Therefore, he has urged the GAO to produce an unclassified report outlining its findings and recommendations.

Despite extensive use of hacking tools and spyware by federal agents over the years, as Wyden stated in his letter, the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI “have consistently ignored congressional calls for greater transparency across multiple administrations.”

Wyden has made several requests to the GAO:

• Investigate if agents have misused hacking tools and spyware for unauthorized or personal purposes, and assess the technical and oversight measures currently in place to prevent such abuses;
• Examine how agencies “acquire, store, and secure” these tools to mitigate the risk of dangerous leaks, and determine if a framework exists for the U.S. government to disclose security vulnerabilities to help tech companies address them;
• Assess how federal authorities notify courts when applying for warrants to use these tools, including whether they disclose any potential risks to unknown or innocent individuals.

To highlight the risks linked with hacking tools, Wyden specifically mentioned the case of Peter Williams, a former executive at defense contractor L3Harris, who stole and sold sophisticated hacking tools to a Russian broker. These tools were later used by Russian operatives against Ukraine and by Chinese cybercriminals targeting cryptocurrency holders.

The earliest documented case of the FBI utilizing spyware dates back to 1999. During an investigation into illegal gambling and loan sharking, agents discovered that Philadelphia mobster Nicodemo S. Scarfo had utilized the Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) software to encrypt a file on his computer that was believed to contain critical evidence.

To access the file, the FBI used basic malware to monitor keystrokes on Scarfo’s computer, enabling them to decrypt the file.