Global Government Hacking for the FBI and US Authorities: On Thursday, April 28, 2016, the US Supreme Court approved a change in Article 41 of the Federal Criminal Procedure Code. It sounds innocuous, but the effects of the changes will be felt around the world.
Under the law currently in force, US police officers and FBI federal agents should know where a computer is before they can get a warrant that allows them to directly hack the machine. The logic? It should be ensured that the judge who issues the warrant has jurisdiction over the physical location of the computer. 
In other words, a regional judge can not issue an investigation warrant against anyone outside his area.
According to the proposed change in the law (PDF) this geographic information will no longer be required to issue a search warrant. It will issue a single one that can be used to allow US authorities to penetrate any PC, Mac or any other device anywhere in the world.
An additional change to the law will allow the FBI to hack into victims' computers that have already been hacked by cybercriminals. This is seen as a measure to help identify administrators botnets.
The Ministry The US Justice Department has proposed this particular change to the Act for three years, saying it is simply a procedural matter that does not mean it will give the police any additional powers.
"Instead of asking Congress for permission, the Department of Justice is trying to quietly circumvent the legislative process by pushing for a change in the law, pretending that government hacking is a simple procedural wording and not a massive change in the law that is real." said Kevin Bankston, its director Open Technology Institute of America.
“Congress should not let the Justice Department go dark panel of judges to write the law, especially on a new and complex issue with serious implications for privacy, security, and civil liberties. If government hacking is to be allowed at all, it must be authorized by Congress, with strong protective rules, and after deep research and vigorous debate.”
Rounding the corners…
Changing the Law as a procedural act, and not after discussions in Congress, is insidious, dangerous and unprecedented.
"It carries with it the ghost of government hacking without any discussion in Congress or any other democratic policy-making process," said Richard Salgado, Google's legal adviser.
Although lawmakers have now approved changes, the law is not yet in force. By law, Congress has until December 1st to respond to the changes before it enters into force.
So if democratic processes do not start before 1 in December of 2016, police, the FBI and other agencies will be able to hack into systems around the world.
