Anonymous + general hacktivists 2009-2018 (Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department)
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 Indiana Access to Public Records 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 7 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Emma Best
From: Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department
Ms. Best,
I am writing to confirm receipt of your recently submitted request for public records which was received by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (“IMPD”) on May 30, 2019.
IMPD has initiated a search of its public records to identify and collect those records, if any, that are responsive to your request. Upon completion of that task, any records found will be inspected to determine whether they contain any material that by statute shall or may be withheld from public inspection and copying. You will be notified when this has been completed. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Please be advised that APRA specifies an acknowledgment to a written or emailed request within seven (7) business days; it does not maintain that responsive documents be produced in seven (7) business days.
Sincerely,
Marianne McCalip
Paralegal
Office of the Chief
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department
From: Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department
Good morning,
In reference to your recent request for public records:
Bullet point 1: Any internal reports and alerts pertaining to Anonymous and other “hacktivist” groups are excepted from disclosure at the discretion of the agency pursuant to IC 5-14-3-4(b)(19).
Bullet point 2: IMPD does not have a dedicated information technology department. Our IT requests go through the city’s Information Services Agency (ISA) and you would need to submit a separate request to the city of Indianapolis for those records.
Bullet point 3: Reports and warnings, as well as alerts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security, fusion centers or other federal agencies are excepted from disclosure at the agency’s discretion pursuant to IC 5-14-3-4(b)(19).
Bullet point 4: The agency has no way to query its records management service for reports in reference to Anonymous or other “hactivist” groups. Therefore, the agency has nothing responsive.
Bullet point 5: Any materials generated as a result of any suspected or actual breach are excepted from disclosure at the discretion of the agency pursuant to IC 5-14-3-4(b)(19).
Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best,
Marianne McCalip
Paralegal
Office of the Chief
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department
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