A foreign hacker broke into the FBI‘s New York Field Office in 2023 and tampered with files relating to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a new report.
The hacker, whose nationality was not disclosed, reportedly broke into the FBI and gained access to government Epstein files on February 12, 2023, Reuters reports.
An investigation into the breach found the hacker had been ‘combing through certain files pertaining to the Epstein investigation.’
A source familiar with the breach told the outlet that the foreign hacker appeared to have been a cybercriminal rather than a foreign government.
They added that the breach occurred after a server at the Child Exploitation Forensic Lab in the FBI’s New York Field Office was accidentally made vulnerable to infiltration.
Special Agent Aaron Spivack was attempting to ‘navigate the bureau’s complex procedures for handling digital evidence,’ the report claims.
The FBI refused to comment. Spivack did not immediately return the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
According to a timeline written by the agent, Spivack discovered his system was breached when he came into work on February 13, 2023, the day after the hack, and found a warning that his network had been compromised.
A foreign hacker reportedly broke into the FBI’s New York City office in 2023 and gained access to a government server before interacting with some files related to Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting his federal sex trafficking trial. Epstein has been linked to many of the world’s most powerful and rich people, including Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton
The hacker reportedly broke into the FBI’s New York Field Office, shown above
The timeline does not state what files were accessed, whether any data was downloaded or the identity of the hacker.
‘The FBI restricted access to the malicious actor and rectified the network,’ a spokesperson said in a statement.
‘The investigation remains ongoing, so we do not have further comments to provide at this time.’
Spivack reportedly told FBI investigators that he was being made ‘a scapegoat for the intrusion’ and that poor information technology practices and communication were to blame for the breach.
The source familiar with the incident told Reuters that the foreign hacker appeared not to know they had infiltrated a government server.
The foreign infiltrator told FBI officials they were disgusted that child abuse material appeared on their server. The hacker even threatened to turn the FBI official over to the FBI, the source said.
FBI brass eventually convinced the hacker that they were indeed a part of the bureau by inviting the hacker to join a video call on which they showed the perpetrator their law enforcement credentials.
The DOJ did not immediately responded to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
Jeffrey Epstein shown at his Zorro Ranch
Epstein’s victims say they were abused at the property and some documents released by the DOJ claim two foreign women were killed and buried at the site, though the allegations have come under much scrutiny
‘Who wouldn’t be going after the Epstein files if you’re the Russians or somebody interested in kompromat?’ Jon Lindsay, a Georgia Institute of Technology professor, told Reuters.
‘If foreign intelligence agencies are not thinking seriously about the Epstein files as a target, then I would be shocked.’
The bombshell report comes the same week that investigators descended on Epstein’s former New Mexico property, called Zorro Ranch, after DOJ files showed concerning reports that two foreign women were murdered there.
‘The federal government asked New Mexico to stop their investigation, I believe, back in 2019 of that ranch,’ House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican and an ally of Trump who is leading the Epstein inquiry, said Tuesday.
‘So there’s just so many questions about how the government failed, the victims and how government failed in trying to prosecute Epstein sooner. I mean, this whole thing doesn’t make sense.’
Zorro Ranch is roughly 30 miles south of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and is alleged to be the site of much wrongdoing. Self-proclaimed Epstein victims have alleged they were abused at the property.
Shocking files in the recently released DOJ Epstein trove claim – among other things – that two foreign women were killed during rough sex at the property and later buried on site.
Though the claims have come under much scrutiny, as the person providing the tip later asked for Bitcoin as payment for their knowledge.
