National Security Agency's power to hunt down hackers was increased by President Barack Obama. The two 2012 memos of Justice Department extend NSA's authority to investigate datas without the need of a warrant, to discover computer systems and illegal computer intrusion.
The secret information was leaked through the doucments of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's, who until now is wanted by the NSA for espionage charges and extensive spying of the agency.
In the NSA's program to counter act and instigate the fight against hackers, the agency was allowed to scan IP addresses in search of suspected hackers that connect to foreign governments or are connected crime groups.
The program's aim is to protect the American people from the growing foreign government threats, especially the cyber hackers. The NSA's pursuit of cyber hackers is highly supported by U.S government officials.
Spokesman for the Office of the Director or National Intelligence Brian Hale stated, "Against that backdrop, it should come as no surprise that the US government gathers intelligence on foreign powers that attempt to penetrate US networks and steal the private information of US citizens and companies."
A cybersecurity scholar at Stanford Law School, Jonathan Mayer, also stateds that it is a "smack into law enforcement land," referring it to the National Security Agency's program.
Mayer also said, "That's a major policy decision about how to structure cybersecurity in the U.S. and not a conversation that has been had in public."
The agency's standard is not clear on how they carefully choose the targets. The center of their interest must be on foreign intelligence and not law enforcement , the thoughts of Jonathan Mayer who has researched the privacy issue.
Spokesman Brian Hale also said: "As we've publicly stated, targeting overseas individuals engaging in hostile cyber activities on behalf of a foreign power is a lawful foreign intelligence purpose."
The issue on wide range spying of NSA, results in a consequence that needs strong examination or even a challenged public debate, in order to be fair and to be just about privacy rights.
