The FBI
is attempting to persuade an obscure regulatory body in Washington to
change its rules of engagement in order to seize significant new powers
to hack into and carry out surveillance of computers throughout the US
and around the world.
Civil liberties groups warn that the proposed rule change amounts to a power grab by the agency that would ride roughshod over strict limits to searches and seizures laid out under the fourth amendment of the US constitution, as well as violate first amendment privacy rights. They have protested that the FBI is seeking to transform its cyber capabilities with minimal public debate and with no congressional oversight."