FBI won't reveal hack, so child porn evidence tossed - CNET

Evidence in a child poography trial has been excluded because the US govement refuses to detail how it the website allegedly visited by the defendant.

The FBI says the hacking method, referred to as a Network Investigation Technique, or NIT, allowed the bureau to track Jay Michaud after he visited a hidden website on the so-called Dark Web, leading to charges of possessing child poography. But defense attoeys say a govement explanation could show that the method yielded unreliable information.

The case is part of a growing debate over govement hacking in criminal cases. Michaud is one of several people facing charges after the bureau used the hacking method to infiltrate the hidden child poography website and identify the computers of those who visited it. A handful of those cases have seen evidence thrown out as well. In addition to conces over the reliability of the hack raised by Michaud's attoeys, judges have raised conces over warrants that allow the govement to target a computer even when its location is unknown.

As the resulting cases have unfolded, the US Senate is considering a change to federal judicial rules that would let judges sign warrants to allow the govement to target computers outside their jurisdiction when their locations are unknown.

In the case of Michaud, the technique led police to get a search warrant for his home, where they allegedly found a cell phone and two thumb drives containing child poography. That evidence is now excluded.