A new report on FBI surveillance techniques has revealed some interesting details on the hacks the Bureau is using to keep tabs on suspected criminals. The Federal Bureau of Investigation often attempts to install malware by targeting the email addresses of those who are under investigation. Essentially, law enforcement agencies are using the same phishing techniques as spammers pushing medication supplies or looking to get into your social media accounts.
The man who called himself “Mo” had dark hair, a foreign accent and — if the pictures he e-mailed to federal investigators could be believed — an Iranian military uniform. When he made a series of threats to detonate bombs at universities and airports across a wide swath of the United States last year, police had to scramble every time.