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janrinok [soylentnews.org] writes:

The WSJ is reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice is pushing to make it easier for law enforcement to get warrants to hack into the computers of criminal suspects across the country [wsj.com]. The move, which would alter federal court rules governing search warrants, comes amid increases in cases related to computer crimes. Investigators say they need more flexibility to get warrants to allow hacking in such cases, especially when multiple computers are involved or the government doesn't know where the suspect's computer is physically located.

From the article:

The Justice Department effort is raising questions among some technology advocates, who say the government should focus on fixing the holes in computer software that allow such hacking instead of exploiting them. Privacy advocates also warn government spyware could end up on innocent people's computers if remote attacks are authorized against equipment whose ownership isn't clear.

The government's hacking tools — such as sending an email embedded with code that installs spying software — resemble those used by criminal hackers (sic). The government doesn't describe these methods as hacking (sic), preferring instead to use terms like "remote access" and "network investigative techniques".

Ars Technica cover the same story [arstechnica.com] but offer some useful analysis of the subject.

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