NJElectH
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | Aug. 16, 2016 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Joseph Uchill
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
1. Communications sent to or from campaigns.
2. Complaints lodged against campaigns or the Election Commission.
3. Enforcement actions/litigation relating to campaigns
4. Correspondence with local elections authorities
5. Emails between Division of Election authorities
Here are search terms you might find useful. I also combined all the search terms into two Boolean searches you could cut, paste and enter – I figure that’d be way easier for any system that allows Boolean searches.
A. “Hackers,” “Hacker,” “Hacktivism,” “Hacktivist” “Cyber Security” or “Cybersecurity”
B. “Advanced persistent threat,” “APT,” “Denial of Service,” or “DDoS”
C. “Malware,” “Ransomware ,” “antivirus, “anti-virus,” “Trojan” or both “Computer and Virus”
D. “CozyBear,” “Cozy Bear,” “Fancy Bear,” “FancyBear,” “MiniDuke,” “CosmicDuke,” “OnionDuke,” “CozyDuke,” “SeaDuke,” “CloudDuke,” “MiniDionis,” “HammerDuke,” “Hammertoss,” or “Sofacy”
E. “61398,” “Unit 8200,” “Codoso,” “Danti,” “EvilPost,” or “SPIVY”
In a standard Boolean search, you can search for these in two searches:
i. “Hackers” OR “Hacker” OR “Hacktivism” OR “Hacktivist” “Cyber Security” OR “Cybersecurity” OR “Advanced persistent threat” OR “APT” OR “Denial of Service” OR “DDoS” OR “Malware” OR “Ransomware “ OR “antivirus, “anti-virus” OR “Trojan” OR “CozyBear” OR “Cozy Bear” OR “Fancy Bear” OR “FancyBear” OR “MiniDuke” OR “CosmicDuke” OR “OnionDuke” OR “CozyDuke” OR “SeaDuke” OR “CloudDuke” OR “MiniDionis” OR “HammerDuke” OR “Hammertoss” OR “Sofacy”OR “61398” OR “Unit 8200” OR “Codoso” OR “Danti” OR “Platinum” OR “EvilPost” OR “SPIVY”
ii. Computer AND virus
For reference:
Group “A” describes general terms used in the discussion of cybersecurity.
Group “B” describes terms related to different types of cyber attacks.
Group “C” describes terms used in discussions of computer malware.
Group “D” describes names used to describe different Russian threat actors
Group “E” describes other state-run cyber groups
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 15 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Joseph Uchill
From: Joseph Uchill
With apologies, the prior email was missing a very important sentence. The request should be for:
Cybersecurity-related (see below for a glossary of search terms) documents, in the timeframe of 2008 through the present, from the following categories:
1. Communications sent to or from campaigns.
2. Complaints lodged against campaigns or the Election Commission.
3. Enforcement actions/litigation relating to campaigns
4. Correspondence with local elections authorities
5. Emails between Division of Election authorities
IF THERE IS NO WAY to bulk search all campaign-related documents, please restrict those to presidential campaigns.
Here are search terms you might find useful. I also combined all the search terms into two Boolean searches you could cut, paste and enter – I figure that’d be way easier for any system that allows Boolean searches.
A. “Hackers,” “Hacker,” “Hacktivism,” “Hacktivist” “Cyber Security” or “Cybersecurity”
B. “Advanced persistent threat,” “APT,” “Denial of Service,” or “DDoS”
C. “Malware,” “Ransomware ,” “antivirus, “anti-virus,” “Trojan” or both “Computer and Virus”
D. “CozyBear,” “Cozy Bear,” “Fancy Bear,” “FancyBear,” “MiniDuke,” “CosmicDuke,” “OnionDuke,” “CozyDuke,” “SeaDuke,” “CloudDuke,” “MiniDionis,” “HammerDuke,” “Hammertoss,” or “Sofacy”
E. “61398,” “Unit 8200,” “Codoso,” “Danti,” “EvilPost,” or “SPIVY”
In a standard Boolean search, you can search for these in two searches:
i. “Hackers” OR “Hacker” OR “Hacktivism” OR “Hacktivist” “Cyber Security” OR “Cybersecurity” OR “Advanced persistent threat” OR “APT” OR “Denial of Service” OR “DDoS” OR “Malware” OR “Ransomware “ OR “antivirus, “anti-virus” OR “Trojan” OR “CozyBear” OR “Cozy Bear” OR “Fancy Bear” OR “FancyBear” OR “MiniDuke” OR “CosmicDuke” OR “OnionDuke” OR “CozyDuke” OR “SeaDuke” OR “CloudDuke” OR “MiniDionis” OR “HammerDuke” OR “Hammertoss” OR “Sofacy”OR “61398” OR “Unit 8200” OR “Codoso” OR “Danti” OR “Platinum” OR “EvilPost” OR “SPIVY”
ii. Computer AND virus
For reference:
Group “A” describes general terms used in the discussion of cybersecurity.
Group “B” describes terms related to different types of cyber attacks.
Group “C” describes terms used in discussions of computer malware.
Group “D” describes names used to describe different Russian threat actors
Group “E” describes other state-run cyber groups
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes. I am a journalist working with the news outlet The Hill, and these documents will be publicly available on the "MuckRock" website.
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 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
From: Whitmire, Chris
Joseph Uchill
MuckRock
DEPT MR 27796
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
Delivered via E-mail: requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>
Dear Mr. Uchill
Your Freedom of Information Act Request for records related to election security was received by this office on August 16, 2016.
Please provide clarification as it relates to the following items included in your request:
1. You list five general descriptions of records:
1. Communications sent to or from campaigns.
2. Complaints lodged against campaigns or the Election Commission.
3. Enforcement actions/litigation relating to campaigns
4. Correspondence with local elections authorities
5. Emails between Division of Election authorities
You also list a number of search terms related to hacking and computer viruses.
Does each item in the list of five types of records stand alone? Or, are you asking for these five types of records that also contain the search terms provided?
2. Relating to items 2 and 3 in the descriptions of records, understand that the State Election Commission (SEC) has no supervisory, enforcement, or regulatory authority over campaigns. The SEC would have no records of “Complaints lodged against campaigns” or “Enforcement actions/litigation relating to campaigns.” Please provide any clarification you feel necessary that would make items 2 and 3 relevant to the SEC.
3. Please clarify the meaning of “Emails between Division of Elections authorities.”
Once clarifications are received, this office will begin researching your request.
At such time as all documents this office has that are responsive to the request are located, they will be evaluated to determine if any are exempt from disclosure. If the documents contain exempt materials, the exempt and non-exempt materials will be separated. Alternatively, exempt information may be redacted. After separation or redaction, the non-exempt materials will be made available to you, in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.
You will be contacted by this office once the materials can be made available. At that time, you will be informed of any fees associated with producing the requested records, the manner in which the records may be provided, and the timeframes for production of the records.
Sincerely,
Chris Whitmire
Chris Whitmire
Director of Public Information & Training
South Carolina State Election Commission
1122 Lady St., 5th Floor, Columbia, SC 29201
P.O. Box 5987, Columbia, S.C. 29250
Tel: 803.734.9070
Fax: 803.734.9366
scVOTES.org<http://www.scvotes.org/>
[cid:image006.jpg@01CD028B.90489D00]<http://www.facebook.com/scvotes>[cid:image007.jpg@01CD028B.90489D00]<http://twitter.com/scvotes>
[Every Vote Matters_LogoXSmall]
This message originates from the South Carolina State Election Commission. If you have received this message in error, we would appreciate it if you would immediately notify the South Carolina State Election Commission by sending a reply e-mail to the sender of this message. Thank you.
From: Joseph Uchill
I'm looking for those terms across all categories. With regards to emails, anything sent or received by an official account. As it relates to 2 and 3, please ignore.
Best,
Joe Uchill
From: Whitmire, Chris
Dear Mr. Uchill,
What is the timeframe for the documents requested? Are you requesting emails, communications and correspondence sent or received between specific dates?
Thank you.
Chris
Chris Whitmire
Director of Public Information & Training
South Carolina State Election Commission
1122 Lady St., 5th Floor, Columbia, SC 29201
P.O. Box 5987, Columbia, S.C. 29250
Tel: 803.734.9070
Fax: 803.734.9366
scVOTES.org<http://www.scvotes.org/>
[cid:image006.jpg@01CD028B.90489D00]<http://www.facebook.com/scvotes>[cid:image007.jpg@01CD028B.90489D00]<http://twitter.com/scvotes>
[Every Vote Matters_LogoXSmall]
This message originates from the South Carolina State Election Commission. If you have received this message in error, we would appreciate it if you would immediately notify the South Carolina State Election Commission by sending a reply e-mail to the sender of this message. Thank you.
From: Joseph Uchill
Between 2010 and present.
Best,
Joe Uchill
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 16, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 16, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Whitmire, Chris
Mr. Uchill,
Your request is in process. I should have more details regarding your request later this week.
Thank you.
Chris Whitmire
Sent from my iPhone
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 16, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Whitmire, Chris
Dear Mr. Uchill,
The SEC has been working on fulfilling your request. The search is yielding a significant number of communications.
We are currently in the process of determining the cost of producing and compiling the requested documentation.
We are also working to determine how long it will take for staff to complete the production, compilation, and if necessary, the redaction or separation of exempt material.
However, we can inform you at this time, based on the number of communications already identified in the search and the fact that all of the agency’s resources are currently dedicated to conducting the 2016 General Election, final costs and the estimated delivery date will not be determined for several weeks.
When will contact you when we determine costs and an estimated delivery date.
Thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
Chris Whitmire
Chris Whitmire
Director of Public Information & Training
South Carolina State Election Commission
1122 Lady St., 5th Floor, Columbia, SC 29201
P.O. Box 5987, Columbia, S.C. 29250
Tel: 803.734.9070
Fax: 803.734.9366
scVOTES.org<http://www.scvotes.org/>
[cid:image006.jpg@01CD028B.90489D00]<http://www.facebook.com/scvotes>[cid:image007.jpg@01CD028B.90489D00]<http://twitter.com/scvotes>
[Every Vote Matters_LogoXSmall]
This message originates from the South Carolina State Election Commission. If you have received this message in error, we would appreciate it if you would immediately notify the South Carolina State Election Commission by sending a reply e-mail to the sender of this message. Thank you.
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 16, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Whitmire, Chris
Dear Mr. Uchill,
A limited, preliminary search of SEC email records has produced an extremely large number of records that may be responsive to your request. The search, compilation, and preparation for release of these materials will be both costly and time consuming. Research fees are $20 per hour. Fees for copies and/or scans are $0.25 per page. The SEC will also incur data processing fees from our network services provider. We believe production of the requested documents will require at least 100 hours of research, 2,500 copies, and at least $75.00 in network service provider data processing fees. To begin providing you with the requested documents, the SEC requires prepayment of $2,700. Understand that this fee covers only the amount of research, copies and data processing described above. It is likely that additional fees will be required. This work will likely take months to complete.
Through our limited review of the records identified at this point, we have observed that a large number of these documents are newsletters, advertisements, and emails with boilerplate language that include terms from your search request.
As an alternative, we believe that if you were to reduce the search terms in your request, a more manageable number of documents will be produced thereby reducing your fees and decreasing the amount of time it will take to provide you the documents. If you wish to revise your request, please let me know.
If you wish to proceed with your current request, please send payment in the form of a check or money order made payable to the S.C. State Election Commission to the address in my signature below. You can address the envelope to my attention.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Chris Whitmire
Chris Whitmire
Director of Public Information & Training
South Carolina State Election Commission
1122 Lady St., 5th Floor, Columbia, SC 29201
P.O. Box 5987, Columbia, S.C. 29250
Tel: 803.734.9070
Fax: 803.734.9366
scVOTES.org<http://www.scvotes.org/>
[cid:image006.jpg@01CD028B.90489D00]<http://www.facebook.com/scvotes>[cid:image007.jpg@01CD028B.90489D00]<http://twitter.com/scvotes>
[Every Vote Matters_LogoXSmall]
This message originates from the South Carolina State Election Commission. If you have received this message in error, we would appreciate it if you would immediately notify the South Carolina State Election Commission by sending a reply e-mail to the sender of this message. Thank you.
From: Whitmire, Chris
Dear Mr. Uchill,
A limited, preliminary search of SEC email records has produced an extremely large number of records that may be responsive to your request. The search, compilation, and preparation for release of these materials will be both costly and time consuming. Research fees are $20 per hour. Fees for copies and/or scans are $0.25 per page. The SEC will also incur data processing fees from our network services provider. We believe production of the requested documents will require at least 100 hours of research, 2,500 copies, and at least $75.00 in network service provider data processing fees. To begin providing you with the requested documents, the SEC requires prepayment of $2,700. Understand that this fee covers only the amount of research, copies and data processing described above. It is likely that additional fees will be required. This work will likely take months to complete.
Through our limited review of the records identified at this point, we have observed that a large number of these documents are newsletters, advertisements, and emails with boilerplate language that include terms from your search request.
As an alternative, we believe that if you were to reduce the search terms in your request, a more manageable number of documents will be produced thereby reducing your fees and decreasing the amount of time it will take to provide you the documents. If you wish to revise your request, please let me know.
If you wish to proceed with your current request, please send payment in the form of a check or money order made payable to the S.C. State Election Commission to the address in my signature below. You can address the envelope to my attention.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Chris Whitmire
Chris Whitmire
Director of Public Information & Training
South Carolina State Election Commission
1122 Lady St., 5th Floor, Columbia, SC 29201
P.O. Box 5987, Columbia, S.C. 29250
Tel: 803.734.9070
Fax: 803.734.9366
scVOTES.org<http://www.scvotes.org/>
[cid:image006.jpg@01CD028B.90489D00]<http://www.facebook.com/scvotes>[cid:image007.jpg@01CD028B.90489D00]<http://twitter.com/scvotes>
[Every Vote Matters_LogoXSmall]
This message originates from the South Carolina State Election Commission. If you have received this message in error, we would appreciate it if you would immediately notify the South Carolina State Election Commission by sending a reply e-mail to the sender of this message. Thank you.
