The Cyber Secrets That Are Too Good To Reveal

Security services are prepared to let dangerous criminals escape if it means protecting their hacking techniques, finds Stewart Mitchell

- Stewart Mitchell

Spying, internet surveillance and hacking are secretive worlds, but sometimes the need for secrecy can get in the way of their ultimate goals. Being asked to show how you have obtained evidence can mean giving up an asset that is worth more than the actual evidence itself.

The predicament was highlighted in a recent case in the US, when FBI officials used a previously unknown exploit to infiltrate, take over and investigate a dark web child abuse ring.

The PlayPenweb group breach –where government officials reportedly used a Tor browser flaw to identify the IP addresses of members – led to the identification of 135 suspects in the US and 8,700 members in 120 countries.

However, as the case of one defendant came to trial, court rulings made it clear that, to seal a conviction, the officials would need to disclose how the evidence against the alleged paedophiles was obtained. Rather than reveal their exploits, federal prosecutors dropped the case, but were able to keep the possibility of further legal action alive – presumably in case the exploit was later made public and no longer had value as a stealth tool.

The ruling “deprived the government of the evidence needed to establish defendant Jay Michaud’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial,” the prosecutors said when dropping the case. “The government must now choose between disclosure of classified information and dismissal of its indictment. Disclosure is not currently an option.

“Dismissal without prejudice leaves open the possibility that the government could bring new charges should there come a time when the government be in a position to provide the requested discovery.”

Fragile evidence