The case involves the FBI arresting a child pornography suspect Credit: Dave Newman A U.S. court has ruled that the FBI can hack into a computer without a warrant — a move which is troubling privacy advocates.The criminal case involves a child pornography site, Playpen, that had been accessible through Tor, a browser designed for anonymous web surfing.The FBI, however, managed to take over the site in 2014, and then tracked down and arrested its members by hacking their computers. This allowed law enforcement to secretly collect their IP addresses.One of the arrested suspects has argued that the evidence against him had been unlawfully seized. But a U.S. court in Virginia has ruled in favor of the FBI, according to court documents unsealed on Thursday. The judge, Henry Morgan, ruled that even though the FBI obtained a warrant to hack into the suspect’s computer, none was needed.The suspect may have used Tor to keep his browsing anonymous, but his IP address still isn’t private information, the judge wrote in his ruling. This is because the IP address is given out to third parties in order to access the Internet and even the Tor network. Privacy advocacy group, Electronic Frontier Foundation, is opposed to this part of the ruling.“The implications for the decision, if upheld, are staggering,” wrote Mark Rumold, an attorney with the group in a blog post. Law enforcement could seize information from a person’s computer without a warrant, probable cause or any suspicion at all, he said.“To say the least, the decision is bad news for privacy,” he added.Morgan, however, said in his ruling that the rise of hacking has changed expectations about privacy.“For example, hacking is much more prevalent now than it was even nine years ago,” he said. “Now, it seems unreasonable to think that a computer connected to the Web is immune from invasion.”As a result, Tor users “cannot reasonably expect” to be safe from hackers, he added. The FBI also didn’t violate the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by hacking into the suspect’s computer. Law enforcement should be able to use cutting-edge technology to stop crimes done in secrecy, Morgan said. Rumold, however, expects that this part of judge’s ruling probably won’t hold up in appeal. Related content news Multibillion-dollar cybersecurity training market fails to fix the supply-demand imbalance Despite money pouring into programs around the world, training organizations have not managed to ensure employment for professionals, while entry-level professionals are finding it hard to land a job By Samira Sarraf Oct 02, 2023 6 mins CSO and CISO Technology Industry IT Training news Royal family’s website suffers Russia-linked cyberattack Pro-Russian hacker group KillNet took responsibility for the attack days after King Charles condemned the invasion of Ukraine. By Michael Hill Oct 02, 2023 2 mins DDoS Cyberattacks news ShadowSyndicate Cybercrime gang has used 7 ransomware families over the past year Researchers from Group-IB believe it's likely the group is an independent affiliate working for multiple ransomware-as-a-service operations By Lucian Constantin Oct 02, 2023 4 mins Hacker Groups Ransomware Cybercrime feature 10 things you should know about navigating the dark web A lot can be found in the shadows of the internet from sensitive stolen data to attack tools for sale, the dark web is a trove of risks for enterprises. Here are a few things to know and navigate safely. By Rosalyn Page Oct 02, 2023 13 mins Cybercrime Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe