WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI said this week it is investigating “suspicious activity” on an internal system that contains sensitive information related to surveillance operations and investigations.
The bureau is working to determine the scope and impact of the problem, according to a notice sent to members of Congress, which said unnamed culprits were using sophisticated techniques to exploit the FBI’s cybersecurity controls.
The FBI began investigating unusual log information related to its network systems on February 17, according to a notice obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday.
“The affected systems are unclassified and contain law enforcement sensitive information, including returns from legal proceedings such as pen records, trap and trace surveillance returns, and personally identifiable information related to subjects of FBI investigations,” the notice, seen by The Associated Press, said.
Pen registers are a common surveillance tool that law enforcement uses to record phone numbers dialed from a specific line.
The FBI confirmed the cyber incident in a statement but did not provide further details.
“The FBI identified and addressed suspicious activity on the FBI network, and we used all our technical capabilities to respond,” the FBI said. “We have nothing to respond to.”
Neither the FBI statement nor the notice identified who might be responsible for the incident, but the FBI and other federal agencies have long been targeted by foreign hackers seeking to spy on sensitive operations and decision-making.
The FBI said the techniques used in this case were “sophisticated,” including leveraging a commercial internet service provider’s infrastructure to exploit FBI cybersecurity controls.