Senator Calls for Federal Probe into Government Use of Hacking Tools

Senator Ron Wyden, a member of the Democratic Party, is calling on the U.S. government to reevaluate its deployment of hacking tools and spyware by federal law enforcement against American citizens, highlighting the concerning lack of transparency surrounding the scope and justification for these actions.

On Friday, Wyden contacted the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), which monitors federal government operations, to request a comprehensive examination of the practices of agencies such as the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Secret Service regarding their implementation of hacking and spyware.

In a letter acquired by TechCrunch, Wyden pointed out that these tools have been in use for over two decades, yet “there is limited public understanding of their scale, frequency of application, or the protective measures that should be in place when they are employed.”

Wyden likened these practices to wiretaps and pen registers, which allow law enforcement to oversee call duration and participants, stressing that the government “does not provide annual reports on hacking activities.” As a result, he has urged the GAO to create an unclassified report detailing its discoveries and suggestions.

Despite the enduring use of hacking tools and spyware by federal agencies, Wyden remarked in his letter that the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI “have often disregarded congressional requests for greater transparency throughout multiple administrations.”

Wyden has posed several questions to the GAO:

• Investigate whether agents have misused hacking tools and spyware for personal or unauthorized purposes and evaluate the existing technical and oversight frameworks intended to prevent such abuses;
• Examine how agencies “acquire, store, and protect” these tools to minimize the risk of leaks and whether there is a protocol for the U.S. government to report security flaws to tech companies;
• Assess how federal officials interact with courts when applying for warrants for these tools, including whether they reveal any potential risks to innocent or unidentified persons.

To underscore the risks associated with hacking tools, Wyden mentioned the case of Peter Williams, a former executive at defense contractor L3Harris, who illegally transferred advanced hacking tools to a Russian intermediary. These tools were subsequently used by Russian operatives against Ukraine and by Chinese cybercriminals targeting cryptocurrency investors.

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

To access the file, the FBI employed basic malware to track keystrokes on Scarfo’s device, allowing them to decrypt the critical information.