U.S. courts are set to begin publicly reporting how often federal judges authorize the government to use spyware and hacking tools to intercept real-time communications, giving the public its first standardized view of how frequently these surveillance techniques are being used.

The change will begin with data collected for the 2028 Wiretap Report, which will be published in 2029. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts told TechCrunch that the report will introduce a new “spyware/hacking” category covering wiretaps conducted using hacking tools and spyware, known to federal authorities as network investigative techniques, or NITs.

A new window into government surveillance

The FBI has used hacking techniques and tools such as spyware since at least 1998, but there has been no public data showing how frequently federal authorities have deployed them. Traditional Wiretap Reports already provide annual statistics on court-authorized surveillance, including the type of wiretap used and the offenses being investigated.

Wiretaps can give law enforcement real-time access to phone calls, messages and other communications. Because of the privacy implications, investigators generally have to provide substantial evidence of criminal activity before a judge authorizes a live tap.

The new reporting category will add spyware and hacking-based wiretaps to that existing framework. The Administrative Office said reporting forms and procedures must first be updated to accommodate the new categories before the information can appear in the annual reports.

The distinction matters. The statistics will cover spyware used to intercept communications such as calls and messages, but not necessarily situations where authorities remotely hack into a phone to extract information already stored on it, such as photographs, files or location data. Those operations are treated as searches under a different legal process.

The numbers could change the surveillance debate

Sen. Ron Wyden, who has pushed for greater transparency around government surveillance, welcomed the move. He has argued that Americans know relatively little about the different methods authorities use to monitor communications.

Privacy advocates say the new statistics could provide something the debate has largely lacked: measurable evidence. Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said publicly reported figures could make it easier to determine whether spyware is being used selectively or on a much larger scale.

The issue has become more visible as spyware detection and warning systems have improved. In another TechCrunch report, Apple recently sent threat notifications to users in 110 countries whose devices it believed had been targeted by mercenary spyware, adding to more than 150 countries where the company has issued such alerts.

Apple’s notifications warn recipients to take steps to protect their devices and recommend enabling Lockdown Mode, which is designed to make spyware attacks harder to carry out. Citizen Lab researcher John Scott-Railton said the alerts can also trigger investigations that uncover additional cases, showing why better data on spyware use could matter beyond victims.

The U.S. will not be the first country to publish such figures. Italy, for example, reported that spyware was used against 4,321 targets in 2023. For Americans, however, the first comparable U.S. numbers will not arrive until 2029.

Until then, the scale of government spyware use will remain difficult to measure. The forthcoming reports should finally give lawmakers, privacy advocates and the public a clearer picture of how often these powerful surveillance tools are being authorized.