COVID-19 Exploited by Malicious Cyber Actors (San Antonio Police Department)
| Tracking # |
W316155-042420 |
| Multi Request | COVID-19 Exploited by Malicious Cyber Actors |
| Submitted | April 22, 2020 |
| Est. Completion | Dec. 23, 2020 |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Emma North-Best
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Texas Public 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 10 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Emma Best
From: San Antonio Police Department
Dear Emma Best:
COVID-19 NOTICE
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governor of Texas declared a public health emergency and disaster and issued an Executive Order for people to "Stay Home" to mitigate the spread of the virus and protect the health and safety of Texans by limiting gathering and restricting work activities to those that are essential and support critical infrastructure. City of San Antonio administrative departments are closed to in-person contact. Many departments are on skeleton crews while remaining staff is working remotely or is present but involved directly in the public health or epidemic response. Too Few Employees have the access necessary to respond to public information requests at this time. Therefore in accordance with the guidance issued by the Office of the Texas Attorney General, this is not a "business day" for the purpose of Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code, the Public Information Act, and all PIA-related processes are currently paused.
From: San Antonio Police Department
--- Please respond above this line ---
City of San Antonio In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, City of San Antonio administrative departments closed on April 6, 2020. The City of San Antonio reopened its offices and resumed business day operations on November 23, 2020. This action will restart all PIA-related processes. All requests received prior to April 6, 2020 will resume processing and any requests submitted during the skeleton crew day period (April 6 – November 20) will be officially noted as being received and begin being processed on the 23 rd. This notice has been published on the City's website, and notification will be sent to each requester with pending or new requests.
From: San Antonio Police Department
--- Please respond above this line ---
Dear Emma Best:
Information Requested: To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Texas Public 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 10 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Emma Best
Attachments:
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/FBI20Sees20Rise20in20Fraud20Schemes20Related20to20the20Coronavirus20COVID-1920Pande.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/COVID-1920Exploited20by20Malicious20Cyber20Actors207C20CISA.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/COVID-19-Related20Phone20Scams20and20Phishing20Attacks207C20CDC20Online20Newsroom207.pdf
Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/
The City of San Antonio is seeking to withhold some or all of the information you have requested and has sought a decision from the Texas Attorney General's Office on the applicability of certain exceptions, pursuant to section 552.301 of the Texas Government Code. Please see attached a copy of the City's correspondence with the Attorney General's Office.
Sincerely,
Open Records
San Antonio Police Department
From: San Antonio Police Department
City of San Antonio 06/14/2023
Via EMail
Emma Best
MuckRock News DEPT MR 92103
Somerville, MA 02144
RE: Response to Public Information Request
COSA ORR No: W316155-042420
Dear Emma Best:
The City received a public information request from you on 4/24/2020. Your request mentioned Police Records Request - To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Texas Public 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 10 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Emma Best
Attachments:
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/FBI20Sees20Rise20in20Fraud20Schemes20Related20to20the20Coronavirus20COVID-1920Pande.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/COVID-1920Exploited20by20Malicious20Cyber20Actors207C20CISA.pdf
https://cdn.muckrock.com/outbound_composer_attachments/EmmaBest/83130/COVID-19-Related20Phone20Scams20and20Phishing20Attacks207C20CDC20Online20Newsroom207.pdf
Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/ This letter is for clarification on the information that you are seeking from the City. Due to the large volume of requests, the police department has been unable to expeditiously provide the information to requestors with any redactions as directed by the Attorney General’s Office. Please let us know if you still want to receive this information. If not, we will close this request so we can more quickly provide information on outstanding requests that requestors still want. If we do not receive a response to this email in sixty days, this request will be closed.
If you would like for the City to proceed with your public information request, please respond in writing to the City by replying to this email within sixty-one (61) days from 06/14/2023. Otherwise, the City will consider your request withdrawn. Please note, the ten (10) business days to provide a response to your request will restart upon receipt of your clarification.
Sincerely,
Open Records Division
From: San Antonio Police Department
This is an automatically generated message, please do not respond.
To Emma Best, Please be advised that the City of San Antonio does not monitor requests that have been closed. If a requestor desires to seek additional information, we recommend the creation of a new request (please visit the Open Records Center). If you have further questions, please contact open records staff for City requests and SAPD Open Records for Police requests. City of San Antonio
Files
pages