A foreign hacker broke into the FBI's system three years ago and gained access to confidential documents related to the investigation into American pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The break-in occurred at the FBI's New York office, according to newly released Justice Department documents and a source familiar with the case. Reuters.
This is the first time details have been released about who accessed the server, including allegations that it was a foreign hacker. The FBI described the incident in a statement as “isolated.” “The FBI has restricted access to the malicious actor and has repaired the network. The investigation is ongoing, so we have no further comment at this time,” the statement said.
Although the source says the attack was the work of a cybercriminal and not a foreign government, the incident highlights the potential value of Epstein's files for intelligence. The release of documents by the US Department of Justice revealed the late financier's connections to prominent individuals in politics, finance, science and business, which has prompted investigations in many countries.
“Who wouldn’t try to get the Epstein files if they were in the shoes of a Russian or someone else looking for compromising material?” said Jon Lindsay, who studies the role of new technologies in global security at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “I would be surprised if foreign intelligence agencies didn’t seriously consider the Epstein files as a target,” he added.
The attack occurred after a server at the FBI's Child Exploitation Forensics Laboratory in New York City was left unprotected. According to sources and documents, the server was inadvertently exposed by Special Agent Aaron Spivack as he tried to understand the agency's complex procedures for managing digital evidence.
The calendar prepared by Spivack, part of the Epstein documents that were released, shows that the attack occurred on February 12, 2023. The entry was discovered a day later, when Spivack found a text file on his computer warning him that his network had been compromised.
Further investigation revealed traces of unusual activity on the server, which included “searching for several files related to the Epstein investigation.” The documents do not indicate exactly which files were accessed, whether data was obtained, or who the hacker was.
The source familiar with the case says the attack was carried out by a foreign hacker who initially did not realize he had broken into a police agency's server. The hacker, according to the source, expressed disgust at the presence of child abuse images and left a message threatening to report the server's owner to the FBI.
FBI officials calmed the situation by convincing the hacker that they were the FBI. This included, among other things, a video call during which they showed the hacker their official insignia on camera. Reuters was unable to identify the hacker, where he operated from, what he did with the accessed data, or whether any proceedings have been initiated to identify and punish him.
Spivack told investigators he felt like a “crime acquitted” and blamed the mistake on conflicting internal FBI policies and flawed information technology guidelines. Many Justice Department documents on the Epstein case remain redacted or completely classified. The Trump administration says this is done to protect the identities of the victims and the ongoing investigation. /Telegraph/
