Every PC is backdoored ===BOTNET===

Yes it is called >>>/cia/ since the cia is the same thing as ISIS.

You do know that Wikileaks released to the public a bunch of tools and exploits that the security agencies use to obtain data, right? Those tools would be unnecessary if they could literally push a button and gain access to the PC, smartphone and WiFi network of pedophile number 65 in their list, and that data would also be illegal and inadmissible in court.

The fire rises

So the neural network botnet learned how to post on Zig Forums, huh?

not used for that. it would be deployed in black budget space & military programs to allow high command to circumvent conventional communication networks within a project that are operated by regular engineers or potentially viewable/interceptable by the public. rumored to have been used in some of the mars missions.

it's just about low-hanging fruit.
don't run windows.
don't run unsolicited javascript.
you're untouchable unless you're specifically targeted.
and if they want you, they get you.
it's simple.

Most targets are not high value enough to warrant state-level intervention, which as pointed out, would end up being counterproductive to their goal of full spectrum surveillance. Or, there is some (((reason))) why they don't step in, so for most criminals and even some high level terrorists, these backdoors are never utilized you may recall the manufactured MSM circus over the FBI's muscling of Tim Cook to supply a backdoor to the San Bernardino shooter's iphone Also, there are zero days, and then there are backdoors that haven't been scandalized to the public yet. Guess what category most zero days end up falling into. Actual zero days end up taking an astonishing amount of man hours and expertise to construct and/or uncover, which of course means state-level resources (see stuxnet and the iranian nuclear program), and really just end up being fully offensive campaigns comprised of a collection of exploits and techniques rather than one magical ring-3 vector.

If you want to protect yourself and use mainstream software and get 0day'd you only have yourself to blame. Again, I'll say it's about low-hanging fruit. If they want you they'll get you no matter what. This isn't about a slippery slope. You are in control about how much you give them (at least if you're on 8ch/tech it's a given that you are paranoid/mentally ill enough to understand the value/cost ratio.)

As soon as a zero-day exploit gets to the public then it's not a zero-day exploit, just an exploit.
And that is my whole point. It makes no sense for them to waste man-hours reasearching programs and operating systems for security bugs and developing tools to exploit them; if they could just hit a button and make IME broadcast the target's location, connect to a wireless connection, write spyware to the RAM and send the unencrypted contents of the HDD anywhere, regardless of the user's operating system or hardware. The same thing is theoretically possible with phones since the modem firmware is always proprietary.
Of course there is surveillance. Of course they gather data illegally of both citizens and non-citizens of the US, both in the US and Europe; but I find hard to believe they can literally control any hardware remotely and access any database they want to.

(You) (Need to chill out)