Reporter Sharyl Attkisson’s computer was hacked using software that is proprietary to U.S. government agencies. The computer analyst who discovered evidence of the hacking described it as, “Worse than anything Nixon ever did.”
Today the New York Post reports details of the hacking revealed in Attkisson’s forthcoming book, Stonewalled. According to the Post, the hacker found their way in via an email in February 2012 using proprietary spyware that is only available to U.S. government agencies, such as the NSA and CIA. The hacker later refreshed their connection on two occasions.
Having gained access, the hacker installed a keylogger which kept track of everything Attkisson typed, i.e. stories, emails, etc. The hacker also gained access to her Skype account and was able to turn on a microphone connected to the computer. In her book, Attkisson writes the hackers “made heavy use of it, presumably as a listening tool.”
Even more surprising to Attkisson were the three documents found buried deep in her computer’s operating system. Described only as classified documents, they were hidden where no one would be likely to find them. The analyst who examined Attkisson’s computer told her, “They probably planted them to be able to accuse you of having classified documents if they ever needed to do that at some point.”
Attkisson first announced that she was looking in to a possible hacking of her computer last May. She told Politico the matter had already been under investigation, “for some months.” In June she issued a series of tweets stating that forensic analysis of her computer had confirmed it had been accessed by a hacker in 2012.
Also last May, the Department of Justice denied accessing Attkisson’s computer. They issued a strangely worded statement saying, “To our knowledge, the Justice Department has never ‘compromised’ Ms.Attkisson’s computers, or otherwise sought any information from orconcerning any telephone, computer, or other media device she may own oruse.”
Attkisson’s book, Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama’s Washington, will be released on November 4th.
Update: In October 2011, Attkisson appeared on Laura Ingraham’s radio show and mentioned that she had spokesman at both the DOJ and the White House literally yelling and screaming at her over her Fast and Furious reporting. “Yes.Well the DOJ woman was just yelling at me. The guy from the White Houseon Friday night literally screamed at me and cussed at me,” she told Ingraham. The bugging of her computer began a few months later in February 2012.