Anonymous + general hacktivists 2009-2018 (Chicago Police Department)
| Tracking # |
P495926 |
| Multi Request | Anonymous + general hacktivists 2009-2018 |
| Submitted | May 29, 2019 |
| Due | June 5, 2019 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Emma North-Best
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:
Documents mentioning or relating to Anonymous (the hacker movement/collective, see below) or hacktivism (defined as hacking as a form of protest and/or activism) generated between 1 January 2009 and 1 January 2019, including but not limited to:
* Internal reports, bulletins, warnings and alerts relating to Anonymous or hacktivism
* Reports from the appropriate IT (Information Technology) or computer offices regarding possible cyber attacks by Anonymous or other hacktivists
* Reports, bulletins, warnings and alerts sent to or received from either the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, any fusion center or federal agency relating to or mentioning Anonymous or hacktivism
* Incident reports investigating possible hacking activity falling within the office's jurisdiction and allegedly carried out by members of Anonymous or other hacktivist groups
* Materials generated as a result of any suspected or actual compromise, breach or "dox" (revealing of personal or private information) by Anonymous or other hacktivists
Anonymous has been described by government agencies as a non-hierarchical hacktivist collective, Anonymous uses hacking (and arguably cracking) techniques to register political protest in campaigns known as “#ops.” Best known for their distributed denial of services (DDoS) attacks, past activities have included attacks against the Church of Scientology; Visa, Paypal, and others who withdrew their services from WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange after that group began releasing war documents; #OpTunisia and others purporting to support the Arab Spring; and a campaign that brought down the website of the Westboro Baptist Church. #Ops are usually marked with the release of a video of a reader in a Guy Fawkes mask using a computer generated voice. See attached for additional background information.
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. 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 Internet Archive and 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.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
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 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Emma Best
From: Chicago Police Department
Dear Emma:
Thank you for your interest in information from the Chicago Police Department. Your FOIA request has been received and is being processed. Your FOIA Center reference number for tracking purposes is: P495926-060519
You have requested the following records: Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:Documents mentioning or relating to Anonymous (the hacker movement/collective, see below) or hacktivism (defined as hacking as a form of protest and/or activism) generated between 1 January 2009 and 1 January 2019, including but not limited to:* Internal reports, bulletins, warnings and alerts relating to Anonymous or hacktivism * Reports from the appropriate IT (Information Technology) or computer offices regarding possible cyber attacks by Anonymous or other hacktivists * Reports, bulletins, warnings and alerts sent to or received from either the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, any fusion center or federal agency relating to or mentioning Anonymous or hacktivism * Incident reports investigating possible hacking activity falling within the office's jurisdiction and allegedly carried out by members of Anonymous or other hacktivist groups * Materials generated as a result of any suspected or actual compromise, breach or "dox" (revealing of personal or private information) by Anonymous or other hacktivistsAnonymous has been described by government agencies as a non-hierarchical hacktivist collective, Anonymous uses hacking (and arguably cracking) techniques to register political protest in campaigns known as “#ops.” Best known for their distributed denial of services (DDoS) attacks, past activities have included attacks against the Church of Scientology; Visa, Paypal, and others who withdrew their services from WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange after that group began releasing war documents; #OpTunisia and others purporting to support the Arab Spring; and a campaign that brought down the website of the Westboro Baptist Church. #Ops are usually marked with the release of a video of a reader in a Guy Fawkes mask using a computer generated voice. See attached for additional background information.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. 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 Internet Archive and 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.The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.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.
Chicago Police Department (CPD) responds to all public records requests in accordance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 ILCS 140/1 et seq. If further time is needed to assemble and copy all documents responsive to your FOIA request, we will contact you with a time estimate and a request to extend. You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you’ll receive an email when your request has been completed. Thank you for using the Chicago FOIA Center.
To monitor the progress or update this request please log into the Chicago Public Safety Record System. (https://u8387778.ct.sendgrid.net/wf/click?upn=xSfKPyHO1-2F4Mny2NCLJVulVO5zgaUYhAxXpmsXAhNKLIDBByxt-2BcapQSrFnKhQuogBHGvLRy8X00WcQGJOPxxqvQ587w-2FKMjMVFmPFMnEY8-2FKFPBJj9MVNe7VXnaotno_tdXDCfE4fC2Nb0ddyNiI-2FdEJ5lMudQrq4Lv1iRgFI71tb8iVs7H-2F89ye37aW0OlLzhEUxGPU66nboxZ4T2AB-2BMW80wPyJm8xHF2zy8eYsDsS6P5RedMSiJmLHUNwNrKNTwk7dhTzzpb3tTin72MPDJ5vtmurrnqGZ7samNsyDzw1N0ly2hqByQW7KlAh9d-2FdG-2FpEVYXe7YbWbBQPV6HyS0EcKbbomJct9-2Fk0o35Ba5Vkf0ODmag4vu5t35cSavBWMIPXjFIqJC2HUOmKSiUEvMmpFkJy4l5iU7m9SVFHCzKAQbMoCc4i40KfaXHEEA1CrNgI2T24reM-2FvCP5gRetXm15W92-2BhakEtUgXBV4XrhheKDsrbfpNArQx-2BAq9VuUW8PgVHQ2KHm-2BceAi5YlnTYg-3D-3D)
From: Chicago Police Department
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06/05/2019
HICAGO OLICE EPARTMENT
CITY OF CHICAGO
Emma Best
DEPT MR 57673 411A Highland Ave
Somerville MA 02144
RE: FOIA REQUEST of June 04, 2019, Reference # P495926-060519
Dear Emma:
The Chicago Police Department is in receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. On June 04, 2019, the following request was received. Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:
Documents mentioning or relating to Anonymous (the hacker movement/collective, see below) or hacktivism (defined as hacking as a form of protest and/or activism) generated between 1 January 2009 and 1 January 2019, including but not limited to:
* Internal reports, bulletins, warnings and alerts relating to Anonymous or hacktivism
* Reports from the appropriate IT (Information Technology) or computer offices regarding possible cyber attacks by Anonymous or other hacktivists
* Reports, bulletins, warnings and alerts sent to or received from either the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, any fusion center or federal agency relating to or mentioning Anonymous or hacktivism
* Incident reports investigating possible hacking activity falling within the office's jurisdiction and allegedly carried out by members of Anonymous or other hacktivist groups
* Materials generated as a result of any suspected or actual compromise, breach or "dox" (revealing of personal or private information) by Anonymous or other hacktivists
Anonymous has been described by government agencies as a non-hierarchical hacktivist collective, Anonymous uses hacking (and arguably cracking) techniques to register political protest in campaigns known as “#ops.” Best known for their distributed denial of services (DDoS) attacks, past activities have included attacks against the Church of Scientology; Visa, Paypal, and others who withdrew their services from WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange after that group began releasing war documents; #OpTunisia and others purporting to support the Arab Spring; and a campaign that brought down the website of the Westboro Baptist Church. #Ops are usually marked with the release of a video of a reader in a Guy Fawkes mask using a computer generated voice. See attached for additional background information.
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. 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 Internet Archive and 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.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
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.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, a public body may extend the time to respond to a FOIA request by up to 5 business days for a limited number of reasons. 5 ILCS 140/3(e). We are extending the time to respond to your request by 5 business days for the following reason(s):
The requested records are stored in whole or in part at other locations than the office having charge of the requested records;
If you have any questions, please contact our office at 312-745-5308 or at the following address: Chicago Police Department Attention: Freedom of Information Officer Office of Legal Affairs, Unit 114 3510 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60653
Sincerely, Maria Acosta
Freedom of Information Officer
Chicago Police Department
From: Chicago Police Department
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Greetings, Please find attached the response to FOIA Request P495926. Thank you for patience. Best,
From: Emma North-Best
First of all, it's Emma Best, not Emily Best.
Second, it's Mx., not Ms.
Third, your claim that there is little public interest in the information is prima facie laughable.
Fourth, your claim that it would unduly burdensome to process the request is contradicted by your claim that you have no idea how burdensome it would actually be as you referred to it as "an unknown quantity of records."
Fifth, you have failed to describe what makes it burdensome. Multiple issues submitted in a single request (which you laughably then assert your right to consolidate into a single request despite having been submitted that way) does not automatically make a request unduly burdensome.
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