Judge invalidates warrant that let feds hack Tor-using child porn suspect

(credit: Wikipedia)

A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled Wednesday in favor of a man accused of accessing child pornography through Tor, finding that the warrant issued by a Virginia-based judge was invalid. The evidence of child pornography the government claims it found on the man's computers is suppressed, which likely makes continuing prosecution of this case significantly more difficult.

That warrant, which was issued in early 2015, allowed federal investigators to use a "network investigative technique" (NIT), government-speak for a piece of malware typically used to penetrate the digital security of Tor users. That malware then led authorities to the computer of defendant Alex Levin, of Norwood, Massachusetts, and they criminally charged him with possession of child pornography.

Earlier this year, Levin’s lawyers challenged the judicial authorization to deploy the NIT.

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