A foreign hacker accessed files related to the FBI's investigation into financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a cyberattack on the FBI's New York office three years ago, according to U.S. Justice Department documents reviewed by Reuters and a source familiar with the matter.
According to reports, a server at the FBI's New York office was compromised in 2023 and the hacker accessed some of the materials related to the Epstein investigation. This is the first time that details about the alleged perpetrator of the intrusion and the connection to the files in this case have been reported.
In an official response, the FBI said it was an "isolated cyber incident," adding that the agency blocked the access of the person who had penetrated and repaired the network. The investigation into the incident, according to the FBI, is ongoing.
Reuters' source said the intrusion appeared to have been carried out by a cybercriminal rather than a foreign government, however experts stress that Epstein's files are of great value to intelligence services.
“Who wouldn’t try to get the Epstein files if it were Russia or some other actor interested in compromising material?” said Jon Lindsay, a global security researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
The breach occurred on February 12, 2023, after a server at the FBI's child exploitation digital analysis lab in New York was left without proper protection due to a procedural error by an agent, according to the documents.
It was discovered a day later, when a warning message appeared on the computer that the network had been compromised. The investigation then found traces of unusual activity on the server, including searches in some of the files related to the Epstein investigation.
Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier with extensive connections in politics and business, pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges involving a minor. He was arrested again in 2019 for sex trafficking of minors and was found dead in his prison cell in what authorities ruled was a suicide.
