Mainstream Journalist Who Is An Outspoken Critic Of The Government Discovers Her Computer Is Hacked By The FBI

Sharyl Attkisson

This is a follow up to the article New Scandal Erupts Regarding The FBI And Justice Department Monitoring Calls Of AP Reporters Confirming Previous Site Claims regarding the Judiciary Report breaking the scandal on the FBI and DOJ spying on journalists.

The scandal continues, as mainstream journalist, Sharyl Attkisson, revealed this week her computer has been hacked. Attkisson spoke to the Politico website about the matter, which states, "Attkisson believes the possible infiltration of her computer began in Feb. 2011 during her reporting on Fast and Furious." The "Fast And Furious" scandal involves Attorney General, Eric Holder, who is head of the DOJ, which is the parent agency of the FBI. 

The FBI has a computer program known as CIPAV, which is a trojan they surreptitiously and secretly install on select people's computers to spy on and copy the contents of PCs and laptops. It and other FBI trojans have been installed without court permission on select people's computers.

Recently a judge declined the FBI's request to install one of their hidden computer trojans on a man's computer, to copy then contents thereof and take control of his webcam to visually spy on him in his home (Judge Tells FBI To Buzz Off Denying Request To Hack Into Person's Computer And Spy On Them Using Their Webcam). During the case, the FBI showed off that they really don't need a court order to do this anyway and have done so in the past without obtaining one.   

President Barack Obama (front), Attorney General Eric Holder (back left) and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller (right) 

News also broke that the FBI and DOJ fought to keep secret the fact it began spying on Fox News journalists, via illegally hacking their emails and unlawfully obtaining their phone communications in conduct that is unconstitutional. The Judiciary Report is no fan of Rupert Murdoch or News Corp, two entities the site broke the phone hacking scandal about online.

However, under the Constitution journalists are entitled to free press and free speech. It's one of the founding principles of America and a very smart one. Therefore, to abuse the law to spy on outspoken critics is completely illegal and represents a dangerous power grab.

The granddaddy of all newsgathering agencies, the Associated Press, was not exempt from its journalists being illegally spied on by the government, which sends a chilling message. If the Associated Press is not exempt from its rights being flagrantly violated, what does that mean for the little newspapers across America struggling to get the truth out to the public.

The administration is testing some terrible legal waters the Constitution says it is not supposed to in conduct that is very unbecoming. When you've got the FBI and DOJ actively hacking journalists computers and emails and passing the contents on to the White House, crimes are being committed and the Constitution trampled. The FBI and DOJ's conduct is making Nixon era tactics against journalists look tame by comparison. 

Judge Tells FBI To Buzz Off Denying Request To Hack Into Person's Computer And Spy On Them Using Their Webcam

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller

A Texas judge told the FBI to kick rocks when the agency requested clearance to hack into the computer of an alleged suspect to copy the person's files and take control of their webcam to watch them in their home. I've been warning you for years in this column the FBI has been watching select people in their homes via audio and visual means and in most cases without justification.

Secretly watching people in their homes is perverted and sick beyond redemption. It is an abomination and the worst, most depraved privacy violation in history. Only extremely sick people do nastiness like that. It is not justified under any circumstances.

The judge in Texas stated, "The FBI provided 'little more than vague assurances' to protect privacy" of the alleged suspect. If the FBI was looking for corrupt judicial rubber-stamping maybe they should have tried one of the Miami judges on their payroll (you know, like Jose E. Martinez, Marcia Cooke or Cecilia Altonaga). However, this was a jurisdictional issue, as their target in this case resides in Texas.

The sad part about it is the FBI has been known to abuse its authority granted by Congress to request court orders to get into the computers of law-abiding journalists and bloggers, who write exposés on the agency and select politicians, revealing they are breaking the law. The FBI labels it a "national security" matter, but it is actually a national cover your butt matter, when they are outed for breaking the law. The FBI has even gone so far to state they, "Might arguably not be required to obtain a warrant to remotely install spyware" on people's computers to watch them in their homes and copy their files.

The FBI has also misused their authority to get into the computers and emails of select financial executives, so certain people in the Federal Bureau of Investigation can make quick money on the stock market. While they do that, terrorists plot attacks against America and are allowed to roam around free in the country (see: Boston Marathon Bombers).

STORY SOURCE

Judge denies FBI request to hijack suspect's PC using spyware

By Joshua Kopstein on April 26, 2013 09:45 am 20Comments - A rare public court opinion ruled the request was too vague, and the privacy risks too great. For a long time, the FBI has been refining its ability to get inside your computer whenever it thinks you might be breaking the law. But this week a Texas judge put his foot down, denying the agency a search and seizure warrant that would have allowed them to break into an unknown suspect’s computer system and secretly install malware that steals data and monitors activities.

It’s a rare but not unprecedented situation that casts law enforcement in a light strikingly similar to the hackers it’s normally hell-bent on pursuing. After deploying the payload, the FBI would be able to record keystrokes, read emails, and even take pictures from an attached webcam for a period of 30 days — the last part being somewhat ironic, considering that the FBI has warned about the possibility of criminals using the same tactic. "FBI provided "little more than vague assurances" to protect privacy"

In the Wall Street Journal, Jennifer Valentino-DeVries reports the "offensive" cybersecurity measures were being requested to pursue a case of fraud and identity theft that seemed to originate from a Texas bank account. The computer, according to the court documents, was targeted because it used an email address similar to the one on the account.

But Federal Magistrate judge Steven Smith said the FBI didn’t give any information on exactly how they’d be deploying the spyware, and provided "little more than vague assurances" that it would be able to minimize the amount of data collected from innocent people in the process. And since the identity of the suspect and the location of the computer are both unknown, there also existed the possibility that the FBI might be hacking an innocent stranger whose computer has already been compromised by the culprit.

Law enforcement's use of such tools is not without precedent. First discovered in 2001, a spyware package called Magic Lantern has been used by the FBI for remote monitoring, reportedly delivered as an email attachment. And in Germany, a flawed piece of spyware engineered by the German government that opened remote backdoor access was famously reverse-engineered and exposed in 2011 by the renowned hacker group Chaos Computer Club...

"FBI emails mention that "one might arguably not be required" to obtain a warrant to remotely install spyware"...

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