Security News > 2023 > June > FBI: FISA Section 702 'absolutely critical' to spy on, err, protect Americans

The FBI doesn't want to lose its favorite codified way to spy, Section 702 of the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

In its latest salvo, the agency's deputy director Paul Abbate called it "Absolutely critical for the FBI to continue protecting the American people."

During his talk, he told attendees that the FBI "Cannot afford to lose" Section 702.

If the FBI is collecting foreign intel on a hacker in China, and that cybercriminal is working with people in the US. "702 further allows the FBI to lawfully run searches against that collection and see who that foreign-based hacker may be working within the United States to identify potential victims who might not even know that they have been compromised or are being targeted and to warn those who might be targeted next," Abbate opined.

Abbate skipped over the part where the FBI misused Section 702 more than 278,000 times between 2020 and early 2021 to conduct warrantless searches on George Floyd protestors, January 6 rioters who stormed the Capitol, donors to a Congressional campaign, and others.

Over the past year the FBI implemented new processes around Section 702 searches, including mandatory query training and "Enhanced approval requirements for certain 'sensitive' queries, such as those involving domestic public officials or members of the news media."

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/06/09/fbi_fisa_section_702_absolutely/