Anonymous + general hacktivists 2009-2018 (Metropolitan Police Department)
| Tracking # |
2019-FOIA-05481 |
| Multi Request | Anonymous + general hacktivists 2009-2018 |
| Submitted | May 29, 2019 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Emma North-Best
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the DC Freedom of Information Act, 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 15 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Emma Best
From: Metropolitan Police Department
Dear Ms./Mrs. Best,
This office is in receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Your FOIA request number is 2019-FOIA-05481 and your assigned FOIA Specialist is Tara Branch. If you have any questions regarding your request, please contact the assigned FOIA Specialist at (202) 727-3721. For ease of reference, we ask that you have your FOIARequest Number available when you contact our office.
Fee Notification There is no fee to submit a FOIA request. However, you may be charged fees for searching, reviewing, and reproducing records. The Metropolitan Police Department may charge the following fees:
* Searching for records: $16.00 to $40.00 per hour based on the pay grade of the personnel who performs the search and with the first hour free
* Charges for initial review of documents: $16.00 to $40.00 per hour based on the pay grade of the personnel who performs the review and with the first hour free
* Photocopies: $0.25 per page
* Document certification: $1.00 per document to certify a document as true copy of an agency record
* The direct cost of any service or material for which no fee has been established
* There is a $3 fee for each PD-10 that is requested.
NOTE: Please be aware that you may have to pay search and/or review fees even if the search does not locate any responsive records or if records are located but are withheld as exempt. Further, if your request will result in fees in excess of $250, you will be notified before we begin processing your request as you will be required to pay in advance. See DC Official Code § 2-532 and 1 DCMR § 408. Please advise this office within five (5)business days from the date of this notification, your willingness to pay. In the meantime your request will be placed on hold pursuant to 1 DMCR § 405.6. If MPD does not receive your response within five (5) business days from receipt of this notification, it will be presumed that you are no longer interested in pursuing your request and we will withdraw your request.
Regards, Latrina Crumlin
Staff Assistant Metropolitan Police Department 3
00Indiana Avenue, Rm 4153
Washington,DC 20001
From: Metropolitan Police Department
Dear Emma Best: The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires that requests describe the records sought with sufficient detail to allow an agency employee familiar with the subject area of the request to locate the records with a reasonable amount of effort. More specifically, 1 DCMR § 402.4 states that: A request shall reasonably describe the desired record(s). Where possible, specific information regarding names, places, events, subjects, dates, files, titles, file designation, or other identifying information shall be supplied.
Your request does not adequately describe the records sought; therefore, we are unable to process it at this time. If you wish to pursue your request, please provide [a location, information as it relates to the police department and hacking ]. If we do not receive your written response clarifying what records you are looking for within five(5) workdays from the date of this letter, we will presume that you are no longer interested in pursuing your request, we will not be able to comply with your request, and we will close our file on it. In the meantime, your request will be placed on hold and the time for our response will not accrue under 1 DMCR § 405.6. Regards, Ms. Branch FOIA Specialist Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office Metropolitan Police Department 300 Indiana Avenue, NW Room 4153 (202) 727-2731
From: Metropolitan Police Department
Dear Emma Best,
Please be advised, your FOIA request has been withdrawn because the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) did not receive your response within five (5) business days from receipt of the clarification notification or voicemail, sent/left on August 9, 2019.
Regards,
Ms. Branch
FOIA Request
From: Metropolitan Police Department
This is an automated message from the DC Government FOIA system. Dear Emma Best, The status for your request is below. Please log into https://foia-dc.gov/palMain.aspx and go to Request Status. If you have any questions regarding the status of your request, please contact the agency's FOIA office that you had submitted your FOIA request to. You can communicate directly with the FOIA office by clicking on Inbox, search the request number, and then click Compose Message. OR, visit to see a list DC Government FOIA Office’s/officer’s contact information and have your Request ID ready. (https://dc.gov/node/818962) Contact FOIA Office Request status: In Process Request ID: 2019-FOIA-05481 Description: Pursuant to the DC Freedom of Information Act, 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 hacktivistsAnonymous 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.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. (Date Range for Record Search: From 01/01/2009 To 01/01/2019) Regards,
DC Government FOIA Portal
From: Metropolitan Police Department
This is an automated message from the DC Government FOIA system. Dear Emma Best, The status for your request is below. Please log into https://foia-dc.gov/palMain.aspx and go to Request Status. If you have any questions regarding the status of your request, please contact the agency's FOIA office that you had submitted your FOIA request to. You can communicate directly with the FOIA office by clicking on Inbox, search the request number, and then click Compose Message. OR, visit to see a list DC Government FOIA Office’s/officer’s contact information and have your Request ID ready. (https://dc.gov/node/818962) Contact FOIA Office
Request status: Closed Request
ID: 2019-FOIA-05481
Description: Pursuant to the DC Freedom of Information Act, 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 hacktivistsAnonymous 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.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. (Date Range for Record Search: From 01/01/2009 To 01/01/2019) Regards,
DC Government FOIA Portal
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