FBI is buying location data to track US citizens


The FBI has resumed purchasing reams of Americans’ data and location histories to aid federal investigations, the agency’s director, Kash Patel, testified to lawmakers on Wednesday.

This is the first time since 2023 that the FBI has confirmed it was buying access to people’s data collected from data brokers, who source much of their information — including location data — from ordinary consumer phone apps and games, per Politico. At the time, then-FBI director Christopher Wray told senators that the agency had bought access to people’s location data in the past but that it was not actively purchasing it.

Read more…
Source: TechCrunch News


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Microsoft gave FBI a set of BitLocker encryption keys to unlock suspects’ laptops

    January 23, 2026

    Microsoft provided the FBI with the recovery keys to unlock encrypted data on the hard drives of three laptops as part of a federal investigation, Forbes reported on Friday. Many modern Windows computers rely on full-disk encryption, called BitLocker, which is enabled by default. This type of technology should prevent anyone except the device owner from ...

  • Microsoft disrupts global cybercrime subscription service responsible for millions in fraud losses

    January 14, 2026

    Today, Microsoft is announcing a coordinated legal action in the United States and, for the first time, the United Kingdom to disrupt RedVDS, a global cybercrime subscription service fueling millions in fraud losses. These efforts are part of a broader joint operation with international law enforcement, including German authorities and Europol, which has allowed Microsoft and ...

  • US cargo tech company publicly exposed its shipping systems and customer data to the web

    January 14, 2026

    For the past year, security researchers have been urging the global shipping industry to shore up their cyber defenses after a spate of cargo thefts were linked to hackers. The researchers say they have seen elaborate hacks targeting logistics companies to hijack and redirect large amounts of their customers’ products into the hands of criminals, in ...

  • China: Authorities tell domestic companies to stop using US and Israeli cybersecurity software

    January 14, 2026

    Chinese authorities have told domestic companies to stop using cybersecurity software made by more than a dozen firms from the U.S. and Israel due to national security concerns, three people briefed on the matter said. As trade and diplomatic tensions flare between China and the U.S. and both sides vie for tech supremacy, Beijing has been ...

  • Hackers claim to have Target source code for sale following recent cyberattack

    January 13, 2026

    Hackers are apparently selling internal source code stolen from American retail giant Target. A previously unknown threat actor posted in an underground hacking community to claim they were selling Target’s data, and that this was the first of many datasets to go on auction. To support their claim, the poster created multiple repositories on Gitea, a ...

  • Man to plead guilty to hacking US Supreme Court filing system

    January 13, 2026

    A resident of Springfield, Tennessee, is expected to plead guilty to hacking the U.S. Supreme Court’s electronic document filing system dozens of times over several months. Prosecutors say between August and October 2023, Nicholas Moore, 24, “intentionally accessed a computer without authorization on 25 different days and thereby obtained information from a protected computer,” according to ...