Foreign hacker compromised Epstein files held by FBI: Reuters

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) – A foreign hacker compromised files related to the FBI’s investigation into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a raid on the bureau’s New York field office three years ago, according to a source familiar with the matter and newly released Justice Department documents reviewed by Reuters.

Details of who accessed a server at the FBI’s New York field office, including the allegation that a foreign hacker was involved, are reported here for the first time.

In a statement, the FBI said what it described as a “cyber incident” was “an isolated incident.”

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“The FBI has restricted access to the malicious actor and remediated the network. The investigation is ongoing, so we have no further comment to offer at this time.” Although the source said the intrusion appeared to have been carried out by a cybercriminal and not a foreign government, the incident underlines the potential intelligence value of the files, one academic said.

The legally mandated release of documents from the U.S. Department of Justice has exposed the deceased financier’s ties to prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business, triggering investigations in countries around the world.

“Who wouldn’t be going after Epstein’s files if it were the Russians or someone interested in kompromat?” said Jon Lindsay, who researches the role of emerging technology in global security at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “If foreign intelligence agencies are not seriously considering Epstein’s files as a target, then I would be surprised.”

CNN and Reuters simultaneously reported on the breach on February 17; The connection to Epstein’s materials was made by the French magazine Marianne. Epstein, a former associate of President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges, including soliciting an underage girl for sex. He was found hanging in his cell in 2019, in what was ruled a suicide, after being arrested again on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors.

FEBRUARY 2023 FILMING

The attack occurred after a server at the Child Exploitation Forensics Laboratory at the FBI’s New York Field Office was inadvertently vulnerable by Special Agent Aaron Spivack, who was trying to navigate the office’s complex procedures for handling digital evidence, according to the source and documents.

A timeline written by Spivack and included in the large cache of Epstein documents released earlier this year said the theft occurred on February 12, 2023.

It was discovered the next day when Spivack turned on his computer and discovered a text file warning him that his network had been compromised, according to that document.

Further investigation revealed traces of unusual activity on the server, the document said, adding that the activity “included reviewing certain files related to the Epstein investigation.”

The timeline does not say which specific files were accessed, whether the hacker downloaded the data, or who the hacker was. Reuters was unable to establish what overlap, if any, between the affected data and Epstein documents released earlier this year or files that remain secret.

Spivack, whose name appears elsewhere in documents related to the Epstein investigation, did not return repeated messages seeking comment.

Reuters was unable to locate the man identified in the documents as Spivack’s attorney, Richard J. Roberson, Jr. Seven FBI agents identified in the documents as being involved in the investigation of the incident did not return messages.

HACKER, FBI TALKED BY VIDEO

In his statement to FBI investigators examining whether he was responsible for the breach, Spivack said he was being made “a scapegoat for the intrusion” and that conflicting bureau policies and flawed guidance around information technology were to blame. Reuters could not establish the outcome of the office’s internal investigation.

The person familiar with the breach said the intrusion was carried out by a foreign hacker who did not appear to realize he had penetrated a police server. The hacker expressed displeasure over the presence of child abuse images on the device and left a message threatening to turn its owner over to the FBI, the person said.

The source said bureau officials defused the situation by convincing the hacker that they were actually the FBI, in part by having the hacker join a video chat where they displayed their police credentials in front of a webcam.

Reuters could not determine – and the source said he did not know – who the hacker was, what country he operated from, what he did with the material he accessed or whether any effort was made to identify or punish him for breaking into the FBI server.

Many of the Justice Department documents have been heavily redacted and others have been kept secret despite a law requiring their full disclosure last year. The Trump administration says it is withholding material that could compromise victims’ identities or jeopardize ongoing investigations.