Mass hacking seems to be all the rage currently. A vigilante hacker apparently slipped secure code into vulnerable cameras and other insecure networked objects in the "Internet of Things" so that bad guys can't corral those devices into an army of zombie computers, like what happened with the record-breaking Mirai denial-of-service botnet. The Homeland Security Department issued alerts with instructions for fending off similar "Brickerbot malware," so-named because it bricks IoT devices.
And perhaps most unusual, the FBI recently obtained a single warrant in Alaska to hack the computers of thousands of victims in a bid to free them from the global botnet, Kelihos.
On April 5, Deborah M. Smith, chief magistrate judge of the US District Court in Alaska, greenlighted this first use of a controversial court order. Critics have since likened it to a license for mass hacking.
General warrants were a key reason cited by the Founding Fathers for their rebellion against King George.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday April 28 2017, @02:03AM
Well, yes. "Parallel Construction" and "Civil Asset Forfeiture" are two sets of key words to search for for those who think it's alarmist to say what you have. Government employees know in their bones that the backlash is coming. They're trying really hard to normalize these practices now, thinking it will help them keep the lid on things. It won't. Billionaires are building bunkers and prepping like crazy, thinking it will help them stay masters of the universe after things break loose. It won't.
As much as some people hate Trump, it seems to me he was a last-ditch, quasi-nihilist response to a status quo that refuses to share, or to change. Trump is mostly doubling down on the status quo, so it won't be too long before things fall apart.
Washington DC delenda est.