FBI held back ransomware decryption key to run operation targeting hackers

Related: the video &quot;Why The Cops Won&#x27;t Help You When You&#x27;re Getting Stabbed&quot; <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=jAfUI_hETy0" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=jAfUI_hETy0</a><p>TL;DW: In the US, the police owes you no protection. See <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Town_of_Castle_Rock_v._Gonzales" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Town_of_Castle_Rock_v._Gonzale...</a>

I don&#x27;t like this. To analogize this to a medical problem-- it would be severely unethical for a doctor to withhold proven treatment in order to study the course of a disease.<p>The FBI shouldn&#x27;t continue to victimize for a (failed) chance at stopping the perpetrators.

<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.is&#x2F;K9JP3" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.is&#x2F;K9JP3</a>

Working to fix things in the long run. I don&#x27;t see an issue here.

Great but if I actively held something like that back I would probably be procecuted as an accomplice.

I am not sure I see a huge issue here. The FBI does similar things when investigating any other criminal enterprise. Sometimes it&#x27;s difficult to weigh the short term benefit against a potentially larger longer term benefit.

The FBI doing secret projects without understanding the technology behind them?<p>*shocked pikachu meme*

I trust our government&#x27;s tech and hacking capabilities as much as I trust politicians to ensure that ISPs are held accountable for subsidies and grants.