BlueLeaks Bulletins (Washington Regional Threat and Analysis Center)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

A copy of (U//FOUO) IIB - Criminal Hackers Target US Law Enforcement Data, created on or about June 26, 2020, as well as bulletins and alerts generated, sent or received mentioning or describing "BlueLeaks" (sometimes spelled "Blue Leaks"), "Distributed Denial of Secrets" or "DDoSecrets". You may limit this request to records created between June 18, 2020 and the date of the processing of this request.

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.

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 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

I did not, in any way, request "All electronic communications, including emails, with Netsential, a Texas-based web hosting firm that contracts with local law enforcement, the FBI, DHS, and municipal governments. Netsential was recently the source of the hacked data known as BlueLeaks. I am especially seeking information about contracts Netsential has received to create and maintain websites and other digital services for the FBI, FBI-affiliated organizations, LE, and various intelligence fusion centers. Please also search for communications with Stephen Gartrell, the founder of Netsential."

Nor have I conceded Netsential as the source for BlueLeaks.

Please do not distort my record requests. However, I am curious who did request that data. =)