COVID-19 Exploited by Malicious Cyber Actors (Cook County Sheriff)

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Dear Emma Best:
Thank you for your interest in public records of the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Your request was received in this office on 4/24/2020 and given the reference number R006853-042420 for tracking purposes.
Your request will be forwarded to the relevant department(s) to locate the information you seek and to determine the volume and any costs associated with satisfying your request. You will be contacted about the availability and/or provided with copies of the records in question.

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RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of April 24, 2020, Reference # R006853-042420.

Dear Emma Best,

Thank you for contacting the Cook County Sheriff's Office ("CCSO") pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 ILCS 140/1 et seq. (2012).
Your request mentioned: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., 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.

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

Attachments:

https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/COVID-19-Related20Phone20Scams20and20Phishing20Attacks207C20CDC20Online20Newsroom207.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/COVID-1920Exploited20by20Malicious20Cyber20Actors207C20CISA.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/FBI20Sees20Rise20in20Fraud20Schemes20Related20to20the20Coronavirus20COVID-1920Pande.pdf
Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/

The Cook County Sheriff has reviewed its files and has located responsive records to your request. Please log in to the FOIA Request Center at the following link to retrieve the appropriate responsive documents. Private information is redacted in accordance with FOIA.
FOIA Request - R006853-042420 (https://u8387778.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=6HtRfOYLt5fXvpttM-2FU1HayyxDiuxWijuK8pStldVjuvpXe0JPd0IGM4otvTN7RMBnr0QjuwfphZlx8MKMh8p-2BmOpPpSWJqJ8jOU1Cf7F-2F5t1s-2B1qmH2z19tHN1e2-2FHtkA5Q_l15h-2BcKP8N4snwfbfV4Op9ffpP-2FlS4-2BtB-2Fp4-2BkWRAbNEeP-2FUftBLid2HLTlA4NHk4TP4a2-2FhvzM5tM7zGgp0ssvVBwXNmRdB3CY52ar6LJfi1hGjbFGqmxYJJRLzW1pRiYt-2BEBj-2FQvMPcuCHciqtlPT4YBXBeD1bnDjK9KtNA7U9kMJLD71ADuqO27dsRnjliOHksthl4VnF3BEHoz4ZbT2m7NLB-2FnhW4heVyWhWPp5B1X7llhUijelDlxWZDGY17G3J041OkTUqi7T6tn48UfBRSaOZZ9WWz9Or5AJ1LCimlhdFoPaVLbwYc8Al8s4N68ZKX7pC4nlfUg4RXCMS8xfdRoGzLH7kWB6L3szxwbxfxVdQLEZCsj5dLAC6uw8ITyny0XjPrFIbz27IME0QkryRLPOIrbKQwvYxJqB1b1M-3D)

If you have any questions, or wish to discuss this further, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Scannell
Cook County Sheriff's Office
FOIA Officer/Legal Department DATA DISCLAIMER: The CCSO strives to provide accurate and complete information. Although the data provided has been produced and processed from sources believed to be reliable, no warranty is made regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of any information. This disclaimer applies to both isolated and aggregate uses of the information.
NOT REQUIRED TO INTERPRET OR EXPLAIN:
Please be advised that, pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/3.3, the purpose of FOIA is not to compel public bodies to interpret or advise requesters as to the meaning or significance of the public records, nor to compel a response to interrogatories.

To monitor the progress or update this request please log into the FOIA Request Center (https://u8387778.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=6HtRfOYLt5fXvpttM-2FU1HayyxDiuxWijuK8pStldVjuvpXe0JPd0IGM4otvTN7RMBnr0QjuwfphZlx8MKMh8p-2BmOpPpSWJqJ8jOU1Cf7F-2F5t1s-2B1qmH2z19tHN1e2-2FHtMxEE_l15h-2BcKP8N4snwfbfV4Op9ffpP-2FlS4-2BtB-2Fp4-2BkWRAbNEeP-2FUftBLid2HLTlA4NHk4TP4a2-2FhvzM5tM7zGgp0ssvVBwXNmRdB3CY52ar6LJfi1hGjbFGqmxYJJRLzW1pRiYt-2BEBj-2FQvMPcuCHciqtlPT4YBXBeD1bnDjK9KtNA7U9kMJLD71ADuqO27dsRnjliOHksthl4VnF3BEHoz4ZbT2m7NLB-2FnhW4heVyWhWPp5B1X7llhUijelDlxWZDGY1lzBdn2EdJadiytfb-2FQ5CjhjtvKrxe8av3fQAdgveym-2BqDi9jSL8T1we8bcCwmZl7jiWpOYGB6Cx6-2FAFM221H48Yerh7pmhzpup2kj-2BaTqW5W9-2BHju26HSETY2CkEnBT-2Bddw43CeAaPm1krCosk03ePvHWRDPx4YisQisMnuEvUo-3D)