Georgia election hack-2016

Paul Burke filed this request with the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States of America.
Tracking #

1415722-000

Due Sept. 28, 2018
Est. Completion None
Status
Awaiting Response

Communications

From: Paul Burke


To Whom It May Concern:

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

Records of the FBI investigation of possible hacks of the "Center for Elections Systems" at Kennesaw State University (Georgia) between 2016 and the present. Please include any briefing materials provided to the University, as well as other releasable materials that were part of the investigative file(s).

For your assistance in tasking this FOIA request, Kennesaw State University (KSU) describes the FBI's role as:

"an alleged breach of data on the elections.kennesaw.edu server....
On March 3, 2017, the FBI was engaged and the impacted server was turned over to FBI for investigation...
On March 30th, KSU employees (President Olens, CIO, AVP Strategic Communications, Legal Counsel, CISO, CES Representatives) met with the FBI and US Attorney's Office regarding the outcome of the Federal Investigation. Chad Hunt shared that the investigation had yielded no data that 'escalates to the point of breach' ...
According to the FBI, the server was accessed by an outside security researcher."
[source: page 157 of state court filing at
http://www.gaverifiedvoting.org/pdf/2017-GA-lawsuits/355554359-CURLING-v-KEMP-Amended-Complaint.pdf]

This investigation was widely reported in the press, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Politico:
https://politics.myajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/feds-security-researcher-behind-ksu-data-breach-broke-federal-law/0xk0VE5HNiW8uBtHd1WHEM/
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/06/14/will-the-georgia-special-election-get-hacked-215255

I request that I be properly classified as a news media requester. I am the editor of
http://VoteWell.net and http://FOIA.Globe1234.com
, and I am requesting this information in that editorial capacity.

I have covered election security in "Scanners, Hashes, and Election Security," Journal of Physical Security 11(1), 1-19 (2018).
http://rbsekurity.com/the-journal-of-physical-security.html

The Journal of Physical Security is widely recognized for its reporting, publishing regular features on issues of public interest and importance, such as:

2017, http://rbsekurity.com/JPS%20Archives/JPS%2010(1).pdf
"A Vulnerability Assessment of 'Indelible' Voter’s Ink", pages 30-56.
"Compliance Versus Security", pages 77-81.

2015, http://rbsekurity.com/JPS%20Archives/JPS%208(1).pdf
"Cyber-Security Evaluation for a Hypothetical Nuclear Power Plant Using the Attack Tree Method", pages 19-36.
"Why Security Fails", pages 37-39.

I plan to use my editorial skills to analyze and produce original reporting work for my audience of 2,000 readers per month at Globe1234.com and elsewhere. My editorial and analytical skills have been recognized for example by:

Bloomberg Law, "Researcher Says CMS Proposal Would Penalize More Than 2,600 Hospitals",
https://www.bna.com/researcher-says-cms-n17179890975/
Orthopedics This Week, "JOINT REPLACEMENT READMISSION PENALTY $265,000",
http://ryortho.com/breaking/joint-replacement-readmission-penalty-265000/

If you have any questions about the request or my media status, please contact me.

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,

Paul Burke

From: Federal Bureau of Investigation

There are eFOIA files available for you to download.

  • E7cc78a39d269bd18d77ecadc4eb2755105a1265c_Q40809_D2122810

From: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Please check the status of your FOIPA Request at http://vault.fbi.gov by clicking on “Check Status of Your FOI/PA Request” on the right side of the page, and follow the instructions below.

Check the Status of Your FOIPA Request
If your FOIPA Number is [1234567-0] please enter [1234567-000] into the system. If your FOIPA Number is [1234567-1] please enter [1234567-001] into the system. If you have any questions about the status of your FOIPA request, please e-mail foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov.

FIND STATUS OF FOIPA- Request statuses are updated weekly

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FOIPA:
Results will show the Request Number, Case Type and Process Description shown below:
FOIPA:
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Case Type:
FOIPA

Process Description (Will display the current progress of the request)
The FBI’s FOIPA Program is searching the FBI’s indices for potentially responsive documents.
You may be contacted via formal letter for all fees and/or negotiation issues that may apply.

NOTE: Recent requests are entered into the FOIPA database in the order that they are received. Before you can check the status, you must have received correspondence assigning a FOIPA request number and the information transferred to the online database. Status information is updated weekly. If a request has been closed within the last six months the online database will display the following: The FOIPA number entered has been closed, and appropriate correspondence has been sent to the address on file.

Estimated Dates of Completion
Requests are processed in the order in which they are received through our multi-track processing system. Requests are divided into two primary tracks--simple (under 50 pages of potentially responsive documents) and complex (over 50 pages of potentially responsive documents). Complex requests are further divided into medium, large, and extra-large sub-tracks based upon request size. Simple track requests typically require the least amount of time to process. Currently, simple track cases average approximately 134 days from the date of receipt for processing. Our complex requests in the medium processing track are currently averaging 523 days, large processing track are currently averaging approximately 1,335 days, and extra-large processing track are currently averaging 1,875 days for processing.

Respectfully,

Public Information Officer
Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS) FBI-Information Management Division
170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843
Direct: (540) 868-4593
Fax: (540) 868-4391
Questions E-mail: foipaquestions@fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@fbi.gov>

Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia

Please check the status of your request online at https://vault.fbi.gov/fdps-1/@@search-fdps Status updates are performed on a weekly basis.

Note: This is a non-emergency email address. If this is an emergency, please call 911 directly. If you need to report a tip for immediate action, please contact FBI Tips at http://tips.fbi.gov/ or reach out to your local field office.

From: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Please check the status of your FOIPA Request at http://vault.fbi.gov by clicking on “Check Status of Your FOI/PA Request” on the right side of the page, and follow the instructions below.

Check the Status of Your FOIPA Request
If your FOIPA Number is [1234567-0] please enter [1234567-000] into the system. If your FOIPA Number is [1234567-1] please enter [1234567-001] into the system. If you have any questions about the status of your FOIPA request, please e-mail foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov.

FIND STATUS OF FOIPA- Request statuses are updated weekly

Please enter the whole FOIPA number-Example: [1234567-000]

FOIPA:
Results will show the Request Number, Case Type and Process Description shown below:
FOIPA:
1234567-000

Case Type:
FOIPA

Process Description (Will display the current progress of the request)
The FBI’s FOIPA Program is searching the FBI’s indices for potentially responsive documents.
You may be contacted via formal letter for all fees and/or negotiation issues that may apply.

NOTE: Recent requests are entered into the FOIPA database in the order that they are received. Before you can check the status, you must have received correspondence assigning a FOIPA request number and the information transferred to the online database. Status information is updated weekly. If a request has been closed within the last six months the online database will display the following: The FOIPA number entered has been closed, and appropriate correspondence has been sent to the address on file.

Estimated Dates of Completion
Requests are processed in the order in which they are received through our multi-track processing system. Requests are divided into two primary tracks--simple (under 50 pages of potentially responsive documents) and complex (over 50 pages of potentially responsive documents). Complex requests are further divided into medium, large, and extra-large sub-tracks based upon request size. Simple track requests typically require the least amount of time to process. Currently, simple track cases average approximately 134 days from the date of receipt for processing. Our complex requests in the medium processing track are currently averaging 523 days, large processing track are currently averaging approximately 1,335 days, and extra-large processing track are currently averaging 1,875 days for processing.

Respectfully,

Public Information Officer
Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS) FBI-Information Management Division
170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843
Direct: (540) 868-4593
Fax: (540) 868-4391
Questions E-mail: foipaquestions@fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@fbi.gov>

Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia

Please check the status of your request online at https://vault.fbi.gov/fdps-1/@@search-fdps Status updates are performed on a weekly basis.

Note: This is a non-emergency email address. If this is an emergency, please call 911 directly. If you need to report a tip for immediate action, please contact FBI Tips at http://tips.fbi.gov/ or reach out to your local field office.

From: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Thank you for contacting foipaquestions@fbi.gov. Please check the status of your FOIPA Request at http://vault.fbi.gov by clicking on “Check Status of Your FOI/PA Request” on the right side of the page, and follow the instructions below.

Check the Status of Your FOIPA Request
If your FOIPA Number is [1234567-0] please enter [1234567-000] into the system. If your FOIPA Number is [1234567-1] please enter [1234567-001] into the system. If you have any questions about the status of your FOIPA request, please e-mail foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov.

FIND STATUS OF FOIPA- Request statuses are updated weekly

Please enter the whole FOIPA number-Example: [1234567-000]

FOIPA:
Results will show the Request Number, Case Type and Process Description shown below:
FOIPA:
1234567-000

Case Type:
FOIPA

Process Description (Will display the current progress of the request)
The FBI’s FOIPA Program is searching the FBI’s indices for potentially responsive documents.
You may be contacted via formal letter for all fees and/or negotiation issues that may apply.

NOTE: Recent requests are entered into the FOIPA database in the order that they are received. Before you can check the status, you must have received correspondence assigning a FOIPA request number and the information transferred to the online database. Status information is updated weekly. If a request has been closed within the last six months the online database will display the following: The FOIPA number entered has been closed, and appropriate correspondence has been sent to the address on file.

Estimated Dates of Completion
Requests are processed in the order in which they are received through our multi-track processing system. Requests are divided into two primary tracks--simple (under 50 pages of potentially responsive documents) and complex (over 50 pages of potentially responsive documents). Complex requests are further divided into medium, large, and extra-large sub-tracks based upon request size. Simple track requests typically require the least amount of time to process. Currently, simple track cases average approximately 138 days from the date of receipt for processing. Our complex requests in the medium processing track are currently averaging 571 days, large processing track are currently averaging approximately 1,289 days, and extra-large processing track are currently averaging 1,649 days for processing.

Respectfully,

Public Information Officer
Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS) FBI-Information Management Division
170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843
Direct: (540) 868-4593
Fax: (540) 868-4391
Questions E-mail: foipaquestions@fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@fbi.gov>

Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia

Please check the status of your request online at https://vault.fbi.gov/fdps-1/@@search-fdps Status updates are performed on a weekly basis.

Note: This is a non-emergency email address. If this is an emergency, please call 911 directly. If you need to report a tip for immediate action, please contact FBI Tips at http://tips.fbi.gov/ or reach out to your local field office.

From: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Thank you for contacting foipaquestions@fbi.gov. Please check the status of your FOIPA Request at http://vault.fbi.gov by clicking on “Check Status of Your FOI/PA Request” on the right side of the page, and follow the instructions below.

Check the Status of Your FOIPA Request
If your FOIPA Number is [1234567-0] please enter [1234567-000] into the system. If your FOIPA Number is [1234567-1] please enter [1234567-001] into the system. If you have any questions about the status of your FOIPA request, please e-mail foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov.

FIND STATUS OF FOIPA- Request statuses are updated weekly

Please enter the whole FOIPA number-Example: [1234567-000]

FOIPA:
Results will show the Request Number, Case Type and Process Description shown below:
FOIPA:
1234567-000

Case Type:
FOIPA

Process Description (Will display the current progress of the request)
The FBI’s FOIPA Program is searching the FBI’s indices for potentially responsive documents.
You may be contacted via formal letter for all fees and/or negotiation issues that may apply.

NOTE: Recent requests are entered into the FOIPA database in the order that they are received. Before you can check the status, you must have received correspondence assigning a FOIPA request number and the information transferred to the online database. Status information is updated weekly. If a request has been closed within the last six months the online database will display the following: The FOIPA number entered has been closed, and appropriate correspondence has been sent to the address on file.

Estimated Dates of Completion
Requests are processed in the order in which they are received through our multi-track processing system. Requests are divided into two primary tracks--simple (under 50 pages of potentially responsive documents) and complex (over 50 pages of potentially responsive documents). Complex requests are further divided into medium, large, and extra-large sub-tracks based upon request size. Simple track requests typically require the least amount of time to process. Currently, simple track cases average approximately 138 days from the date of receipt for processing. Our complex requests in the medium processing track are currently averaging 571 days, large processing track are currently averaging approximately 1,289 days, and extra-large processing track are currently averaging 1,649 days for processing.

Respectfully,

Public Information Officer
Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS) FBI-Information Management Division
170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843
Direct: (540) 868-4593
Fax: (540) 868-4391
Questions E-mail: foipaquestions@fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@fbi.gov>

Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia

Please check the status of your request online at https://vault.fbi.gov/fdps-1/@@search-fdps Status updates are performed on a weekly basis.

Note: This is a non-emergency email address. If this is an emergency, please call 911 directly. If you need to report a tip for immediate action, please contact FBI Tips at http://tips.fbi.gov/ or reach out to your local field office.

From: Federal Bureau of Investigation

There are eFOIA files available for you to download.

  • E7cc78a39d269bd18d77ecadc4eb2755105a1265c_Q40809_R351889_D2374695

  • E7cc78a39d269bd18d77ecadc4eb2755105a1265c_Q40809_R351889_D2374656

  • E7cc78a39d269bd18d77ecadc4eb2755105a1265c_Q40809_R351889_D2374655

From: Paul Burke

From one file the FBI released 87 pages and gave reasons to withhold 68 pages (total 155), but the highest page number withheld was 180, so there are at least 25 withheld without a reason given.
• I ask to release the 25 or more pages withheld without a reason.
• I ask for reasonably segregable portions of the 68 withheld pages

FBI didn't mark original page numbers on the pages they released, so I can't tell where the gaps are.
• I ask to release the page numbers on the pages which were released.

FBI hid all of a 24-page file, giving reasons b6-personal privacy, b7C-personal privacy, and b7E-techniques/procedures/guidelines whose disclosure risks circumvention of law
• I ask for reasonably segregable portions of these 24 pages

The 12th sequential page of the PDF (unknown original page number in the file) says university logs showed 40 IP addresses accessed election databases and 17 IP addresses accessed election zip files. The 13th sequential page of the PDF says these IP addresses included Switzerland and Atlanta. These are the first 2 pages in the attached pdf.
• I ask for the IP addresses. No reason has been given why these IP addresses of outside computers accessing the election computers are entitled to be redacted.

The 84th sequential page of the released PDF (unknown original page numbers in the file) says the university gave FBI an excel file on 3/21/17. This 84th page is the third and last in the attached PDF.
• I ask for a copy of this excel file, or a description which supports why its release would violate privacy or reveal FBI methods.

From: Federal Bureau of Investigation

You have successfully requested access to FBI's eFOIPA website.

Please access the efoia.fbi.gov by following this temporary authorization url:
<https://efoia.fbi.gov/authorize/0afe5818ae95738fed99569a448e244f2a6457c5>.

From: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Thank you for contacting foipaquestions@fbi.gov. Please check the status of your FOIPA Request at http://vault.fbi.gov by clicking on “Check Status of Your FOI/PA Request” on the right side of the page, and follow the instructions below.

Check the Status of Your FOIPA Request
If your FOIPA Number is [1234567-0] please enter [1234567-000] into the system. If your FOIPA Number is [1234567-1] please enter [1234567-001] into the system. If you have any questions about the status of your FOIPA request, please e-mail foipaquestions@fbi.gov.

FIND STATUS OF FOIPA- Request statuses are updated weekly

Please enter the whole FOIPA number-Example: [1234567-000]

FOIPA:
Results will show the Request Number, Case Type and Process Description shown below:
FOIPA:
1234567-000

Case Type:
FOIPA

Process Description (Will display the current progress of the request)
The FBI’s FOIPA Program is searching the FBI’s indices for potentially responsive documents.
You may be contacted via formal letter for all fees and/or negotiation issues that may apply.

NOTE: Recent requests are entered into the FOIPA database in the order that they are received. Before you can check the status, you must have received correspondence assigning a FOIPA request number and the information transferred to the online database. Status information is updated weekly. If a request has been closed within the last six months the online database will display the following: The FOIPA number entered has been closed, and appropriate correspondence has been sent to the address on file.

Estimated Dates of Completion
Requests are processed in the order in which they are received through our multi-track processing system. Requests are divided into two primary tracks--simple (under 50 pages of potentially responsive documents) and complex (over 50 pages of potentially responsive documents). Complex requests are further divided into medium, large, and extra-large sub-tracks based upon request size. Simple track requests typically require the least amount of time to process. Currently, simple track cases average approximately 104 days from the date of receipt for processing. Our complex requests in the medium processing track are currently averaging 853 days, large processing track are currently averaging approximately 1,786 days, and extra-large processing track are currently averaging 2,500 days for processing.

Respectfully,

Public Information Officer
FBI - Information Management Division
200 Constitution Drive
Winchester, VA 22602
O: (540) 868-4593
E: foipaquestions@fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@fbi.gov>

Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia

Please check the status of your request online at https://vault.fbi.gov/fdps-1/@@search-fdps Status updates are performed on a weekly basis.

Note: This is a non-emergency email address. If this is an emergency, please call 911 directly. If you need to report a tip for immediate action, please contact FBI Tips at http://tips.fbi.gov/ or reach out to your local field office.

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