FBI investigating ‘suspicious’ cyber activity on system holding sensitive surveillance information
WASHINGTON– The FBI said this week it was investigating “suspicious activity” on an internal system containing sensitive information related to surveillance operations and investigations.
The bureau is working to determine the scope and impact of the problem, according to a notification sent to members of Congress indicating that the anonymous culprit is using sophisticated techniques to exploit the FBI’s network security controls.
The notice, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, said the FBI on Feb. 17 began investigating anomalous log reports linked to a system in its network.
“The affected system is unclassified and contains sensitive law enforcement information, including returns from legal proceedings, such as returns from pen logs and trap and trace surveillance, and personally identifiable information regarding the subjects of FBI investigations,” the notice reviewed by The Associated Press said.
A pen log is a common surveillance tool that allows law enforcement to record telephone numbers dialed by a particular line.
The FBI confirmed the cyber incident in a statement but did not provide additional details.
“The FBI has identified and addressed suspicious activity on FBI networks, and we have leveraged all technical capabilities to respond,” the FBI said. “We have nothing more to answer.”
Neither the FBI statement nor the notification identifies who might be responsible for the incident, but the bureau and other federal agencies have long been targets of foreign hackers seeking to spy on sensitive operations and decision-making.
In this case, the FBI said, the techniques used were “sophisticated” and included exploiting the infrastructure of a commercial Internet service provider to exploit the FBI’s network security controls.
