The Other Reason the FBI Doesn’t Want to Reveal Its Hacking Techniques

March 30th, 2016

Awake Goy

It’s no secret that the FBI uses computer exploits and vulnerabilities in its investigations, but the agency has not exactly been forthcoming with detailing its techniques.

That makes sense—the FBI wants to ensure its techniques continue to work against bad guys—but there is another reason the FBI doesn’t want to reveal its techniques in court that isn’t so obvious: The agency wants to avoid pissing off both its partners who provide the techniques, and other government agencies that might want to use those techniques for themselves.

The FBI relies on outside parties, such as private contractors, to help it take advantage of software bugs and other vulnerabilities.

“What’s clear is that the FBI does not have the in-house capability to develop exploits,” Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told Motherboard in a phone call.

If the FBI knows about a software vulnerability that affects users, and the developer is unaware of it, should it be expected to reveal that information at some point?