COVID-19 Exploited by Malicious Cyber Actors (Boston Police Department)

Dear Emma Best,

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Dear Emma Best
Thank you for your interest in public records of Boston Police Department. Your request has been received and is being processed. Your request was received in this office on 5/4/2020 1:15:03 PM and given the reference number B000650-050420 for tracking purposes.
If this is a media request, please contact the Office of Media Relations directly at 617.343.4520.
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

* Records mentioning, describing or generated in response to CISA Alert AA20-099A, FBI/IC3 Alert I-032020-PSA, or the CDC alert titled "COVID-19-Related Phone Scams and Phishing Attacks"
* Records mentioning, describing or generated in response to COVID-19 related phishing attempts, such as those described in the CDC alert, FBI/IC3 Alert I-032020-PSA and CISA Alert AA20-099A
* Records mentioning, describing or generated in response to fake CDC emails, such as those described in FBI/IC3 Alert I-032020-PSA
* Records mentioning, describing or generated in response to APT groups using the COVID-19 pandemic as part of their cyber operations, such as those described in CISA Alert AA20-099A
* Records mentioning, describing, or generated as part of or in response to the assessment that the above activities' "goals and targets are consistent with long-standing priorities such as espionage and “hack-and-leak” operations", as described in CISA Alert AA20-099A

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

Attachments:

https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/COVID-1920Exploited20by20Malicious20Cyber20Actors207C20CISA.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/FBI20Sees20Rise20in20Fraud20Schemes20Related20to20the20Coronavirus20COVID-1920Pande.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/COVID-19-Related20Phone20Scams20and20Phishing20Attacks207C20CDC20Online20Newsroom207.pdf
Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://accounts.muckrock.com/accounts/login/?url_auth_token=AAAj3SmFwCqGc-tMmfYbORz2o9M%3A1jVeY7%3ASQcnWn7jI-1-AJ82HGUZg2qq47M&next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.muckrock.com%2Faccounts%2Flogin%2F%3Fnext%3D%252Faccounts%252Fagency_login%252Fboston-police-department-174%252Fcovid-19-exploited-by-malicious-cyber-actors-boston-police-department-92061%252F%253Femail%253Dshawn.williams%252540boston.gov
You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed. Again, thank you for using the Public Records Center.
Director, Public Information
Boston Police Department

Track the issue status and respond at: https://bostonma.govqa.us/WEBAPP//_rs/RequestEdit.aspx?rid=4758 (https://u8387778.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=6HtRfOYLt5fXvpttM-2FU1HS4L-2FIgBDSrHGana-2FLpLlsjgEH-2BMm7DPdY3-2Bl9Nl4WumbCbgX7HeL3wE7Jso82hTYrCOe0IXfUf0HgxFZJI0Vv0-3D_Suz_Vhf2fIyKlX7uApyMU-2B7lp-2FFb-2BK0r4ObfBPxyO7V2WOfvd-2Bbc-2FKFaPWH8f8sxcllvtGtlXxjEiYUE9Kv-2Fbp6N09DWiu928lLusf8DtYTFw8gsh9OzfxRIctOow1GRVw42K5dZKnOrsu-2FbcDVgD90VE4swKWEgr8BXmQTGvNLi8oH-2B0yGGQ-2FdO-2B1XTrDAkW1nEu0Jd3gvwmnrhlTDLvFBMh1CMM2XtyQZ2dGfhfmFHDqfq8cv-2FyfiZuv-2BLaTruL8aSRiK2DPp21uO-2FWfJx-2BUVY3l2FoaONPR1Y1EJqfFFvHZrsny-2Bl18MCtqAnyb2Gv7hpV8QSh8NWiac9JkslCA9hOKDso5FL6GYB12jt1wG5PTb-2FPB2uWyZK6D8E6A5xnRC3B-2BKyL6vtZGuBGTWngFo7Ww-3D-3D)

--- Please respond above this line ---




City of Boston
Shawn A. Williams, Esq.
Director of Public Records 08/31/2021 RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of May 04, 2020., Reference # B000650-050420 Dear Emma: The City of Boston (City) has received your request for public records.  This response applies only to records that exist and are in the custody of the City. See A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, p. 32, n.115.  It is expected that a custodian of records must use her superior knowledge of her records with respect to responses to public records requests.  950 CMR 32.04(5).  Specifically, you stated:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

* Records mentioning, describing or generated in response to CISA Alert AA20-099A, FBI/IC3 Alert I-032020-PSA, or the CDC alert titled "COVID-19-Related Phone Scams and Phishing Attacks"
* Records mentioning, describing or generated in response to COVID-19 related phishing attempts, such as those described in the CDC alert, FBI/IC3 Alert I-032020-PSA and CISA Alert AA20-099A
* Records mentioning, describing or generated in response to fake CDC emails, such as those described in FBI/IC3 Alert I-032020-PSA
* Records mentioning, describing or generated in response to APT groups using the COVID-19 pandemic as part of their cyber operations, such as those described in CISA Alert AA20-099A
* Records mentioning, describing, or generated as part of or in response to the assessment that the above activities' "goals and targets are consistent with long-standing priorities such as espionage and “hack-and-leak” operations", as described in CISA Alert AA20-099A

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

Attachments:

https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/COVID-1920Exploited20by20Malicious20Cyber20Actors207C20CISA.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/FBI20Sees20Rise20in20Fraud20Schemes20Related20to20the20Coronavirus20COVID-1920Pande.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/COVID-19-Related20Phone20Scams20and20Phishing20Attacks207C20CDC20Online20Newsroom207.pdf
Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://accounts.muckrock.com/accounts/login/?url_auth_token=AAAj3SmFwCqGc-tMmfYbORz2o9M%3A1jVeY7%3ASQcnWn7jI-1-AJ82HGUZg2qq47M&next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.muckrock.com%2Faccounts%2Flogin%2F%3Fnext%3D%252Faccounts%252Fagency_login%252Fboston-police-department-174%252Fcovid-19-exploited-by-malicious-cyber-actors-boston-police-department-92061%252F%253Femail%253Dshawn.williams%252540boston.gov I have copied representatives from the Boston Police Department on this correspondence in an effort to obtain an update on the status of your May 04, 2020 public records request.  I will provide an update to you once additional information is provided to me by the department. Very truly yours, Shawn A. Williams, Esq. Director of Public Records Records Access Officer

--- Please respond above this line ---




City of Boston
Shawn A. Williams, Esq.
Director of Public Records 10/15/2021 RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of May 04, 2020., Reference # B000650-050420 Dear Emma: The City of Boston (City) has received your request for public records.  This response applies only to records that exist and are in the custody of the City. See A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, p. 32, n.115.  It is expected that a custodian of records must use her superior knowledge of her records with respect to responses to public records requests.  950 CMR 32.04(5).  Specifically, you stated:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

* Records mentioning, describing or generated in response to CISA Alert AA20-099A, FBI/IC3 Alert I-032020-PSA, or the CDC alert titled "COVID-19-Related Phone Scams and Phishing Attacks"
* Records mentioning, describing or generated in response to COVID-19 related phishing attempts, such as those described in the CDC alert, FBI/IC3 Alert I-032020-PSA and CISA Alert AA20-099A
* Records mentioning, describing or generated in response to fake CDC emails, such as those described in FBI/IC3 Alert I-032020-PSA
* Records mentioning, describing or generated in response to APT groups using the COVID-19 pandemic as part of their cyber operations, such as those described in CISA Alert AA20-099A
* Records mentioning, describing, or generated as part of or in response to the assessment that the above activities' "goals and targets are consistent with long-standing priorities such as espionage and “hack-and-leak” operations", as described in CISA Alert AA20-099A

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

Attachments:

https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/COVID-1920Exploited20by20Malicious20Cyber20Actors207C20CISA.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/FBI20Sees20Rise20in20Fraud20Schemes20Related20to20the20Coronavirus20COVID-1920Pande.pdf

A review indicates no recent activity on this request. Should you still seek records I encourage you to file a new request using the City's public records request portal. Very truly yours, Shawn A. Williams, Esq. Director of Public Records Records Access Officer