14 DAY TRIAL // Back in May, it was revealed that the US Department of Justice was secretly monitoring the communications of Associated Press and Fox News reporters. CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson also said her computer was compromised.
At the time, she didn’t provide too many details, but now CBS News has confirmed that Attkisson’s computer had been, in fact, hacked into.
“A cyber security firm hired by CBS News has determined through forensic analysis that Sharyl Attkisson’s computer was accessed by an unauthorized, external, unknown party on multiple occasions late in 2012,” CBS News spokeswoman Sonya McNair said.
“Evidence suggests this party performed all access remotely using Attkisson’s accounts. While no malicious code was found, forensic analysis revealed an intruder had executed commands that appeared to involve search and exfiltration of data,” she added.
“This party also used sophisticated methods to remove all possible indications of unauthorized activity, and alter system times to cause further confusion. CBS News is taking steps to identify the responsible party and their method of access.”
Since Attkisson made the incident public right around the time news broke about other reporters being monitored by the US government, some believed that the Justice Department might have had some involvement in this incident as well.
However, CBS News says the federal government has not been accused of tampering with the correspondent’s computer. The company is still trying to identify the culprit.
Back in May, the Justice Department issued a statement denying any involvement.
“To our knowledge, the Justice Department has never compromised Ms. Attkisson’s computers, or otherwise sought any information from or concerning any telephone, computer, or other media device she may own or use,” the department’s representatives said, cited by Washington Post.