A foreign hacker managed to break into the FBI’s New York field office in 2023 and accessed files connected to the bureau’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a report by Reuters.
The breach reportedly happened through a server at the FBI’s Child Exploitation Forensic Lab in New York. According to court documents cited in the report, the system had been unintentionally left vulnerable by an FBI special agent involved in the case. The hacker was able to access the server and review certain files related to the Epstein investigation.
Details about the extent of the compromised information remain unclear. However, the court filing stated that the attacker searched through files connected to the Epstein case during the intrusion.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed that the agency detected and responded to the cyber incident. The spokesperson said the FBI quickly contained the affected network and treated the breach as an isolated event.
“Following the 2023 cyber incident, the FBI contained the affected network and determined the incident to be an isolated one,” the spokesperson said in a statement sent to TechCrunch. “The FBI restricted access to the malicious actor and rectified the network.”
The investigation into the breach is still ongoing.
If this article helped you, please consider supporting our work. Every small contribution keeps Abijita.com independent and running.
According to Reuters, the hacker initially did not realize they had gained access to FBI systems. The situation became clear only after FBI agents contacted the individual and asked them to join a video call. During the call, agents reportedly showed official credentials to confirm they were from the FBI.
