Senator asks US government watchdog to review how feds use hacking tools

Democratic senator Ron Wyden is asking the U.S. government to review how federal law enforcement agencies use hacking tools and spyware against Americans, citing a lack of transparency into how often or for what reasons these tools are deployed.

On Friday, Wyden sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), which audits the federal government, requesting it to launch a comprehensive inquiry into how the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Secret Service employ hacking and spyware in their investigations. In the letter, shared with TechCrunch, Wyden wrote that while these tools have been used for more than two decades, “there exists little public information regarding its scope, frequency, or operational safeguards.” Wyden said that, unlike wiretaps and pen registers, which allow authorities to see when a call is placed and to whom, the government “does not publish annual reports for hacking operations.” For that reason, Wyden requested the GAO to publish an unclassified report with its findings and recommendations.

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