Anonymous + general hacktivists 2009-2018 (New York City Police Department)

Emma North-Best filed this request with the New York City Police Department of New York City, NY.
Tracking #

FOIL-2019-056-09530

Multi Request Anonymous + general hacktivists 2009-2018
Status
Rejected

Communications

From: Emma North-Best


To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, 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: New York City Police Department

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has acknowledged your FOIL request FOIL-2019-056-09530.

You can expect a response on or about Friday, October 18, 2019.

Additional Information:
Your request has been assigned to Detective Halk (646-610-6430)

From: New York City Police Department

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has closed your FOIL request FOIL-2019-056-09530 for the following reasons:

In regard to the document(s) which you requested, I must deny access to these records on the basis of Public Officers Law Section 87(2)(e)(iv) as such information, if disclosed, would reveal non-routine techniques and procedures.

In regard to the document(s) which you requested, I must deny access to these records on the basis of Public Officers Law Section 87(2)(b) as such information, if disclosed, would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

In regard to the document(s) which you requested, I must deny access to the records on the basis that your request is too broad in nature and does not describe a specific document.

In regard to the document(s) which you requested, I must deny access to these records on the basis of Public Officers Law Section 87(2)(e)(i) as such records/information, if disclosed would interfere with law enforcement investigations or judicial proceedings.

In regard to the document(s) which you requested, I must deny access to these records on the basis of Public Officers Law section 87(2)(g)(iii) as such records/information are inter-agency or intra-agency materials which are not final agency policy or determinations.

In regard to the document(s) which you have requested, I must deny access to these records on the basis of Public Officers Law section 87(2)(e)(iii) as such records/information, if disclosed, would identify a confidential source or disclose confidential information relating to a criminal investigation.

In regard to the document(s) which you requested, I must deny access to these records on the basis of Public Officers Law Section 87(2)(i) as such records, if disclosed, would jeopardize the capacity of an agency or an entity that has shared information with an agency to guarantee the security of its information technology assets, such assets encompassing both electronic information systems and infrastructures.

You may appeal the decision to deny access to material that was redacted in part or withheld in entirety by contacting the agency's FOIL Appeals Officer: foilappeals@nypd.org within 30 days.

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