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FBI's 2007 impersonation of journalist valid at time: U.S. watchdog
Source: Reuters
U.S. | Thu Sep 15, 2016 3:40pm EDT
FBI's 2007 impersonation of journalist valid at time: U.S. watchdog
By Dustin Volz | WASHINGTON
The FBI did not break rules in place in 2007 when it impersonated a journalist to send a teenage bomb-threat suspect a computer link to a fake news article that concealed location tracking software, a government watchdog said on Thursday.
But the undercover activity would only be permissible today with a series of high-ranking approvals stipulated in interim policy guidelines enacted in June this year, the Department of Justice's office of the inspector general found.
The case gained attention in 2014 when documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based digital rights group, revealed the FBI had posed as an Associated Press editor and sent a link to a spoofed article to the suspect's MySpace account.
By clicking the link, the 15-year-old suspect installed software that sent location data to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents. Over one week in June 2007, the student emailed bomb threats to employees at his Timberline High School in Lacey, Washington. The suspect was later arrested and pleaded guilty in July 2007 to making the threats.
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FBI's 2007 impersonation of journalist valid at time: U.S. watchdog
By Dustin Volz | WASHINGTON
The FBI did not break rules in place in 2007 when it impersonated a journalist to send a teenage bomb-threat suspect a computer link to a fake news article that concealed location tracking software, a government watchdog said on Thursday.
But the undercover activity would only be permissible today with a series of high-ranking approvals stipulated in interim policy guidelines enacted in June this year, the Department of Justice's office of the inspector general found.
The case gained attention in 2014 when documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based digital rights group, revealed the FBI had posed as an Associated Press editor and sent a link to a spoofed article to the suspect's MySpace account.
By clicking the link, the 15-year-old suspect installed software that sent location data to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents. Over one week in June 2007, the student emailed bomb threats to employees at his Timberline High School in Lacey, Washington. The suspect was later arrested and pleaded guilty in July 2007 to making the threats.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-fbi-idUSKCN11L26X