A foreign hacker breached files connected to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a break-in at the bureau’s New York field office three years ago, according to a source familiar with the matter and recently released Justice Department documents.
Details surrounding who accessed a server at the FBI’s New York field office — including allegations that a foreign hacker was involved — are being reported publicly for the first time.
In a statement, the FBI said the incident, which it described as a “cyber incident,” was “an isolated one.”
“The FBI restricted access to the malicious actor and rectified the network. The investigation remains ongoing, so we do not have further comments to provide at this time.”
Although the source said the intrusion appeared to have been carried out by a cybercriminal rather than a foreign government, the incident highlights the potential intelligence value of the Epstein-related files, according to one academic expert.
The legally mandated release of U.S. Justice Department documents has shed light on the deceased financier’s connections to prominent figures across politics, finance, academia and business, prompting investigations in several countries around the world.
“Who wouldn’t be going after the Epstein files if you’re the Russians or somebody interested in kompromat?” said Jon Lindsay, a researcher on emerging technology and global security at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
“If foreign intelligence agencies are not thinking seriously about the Epstein files as a target, then I would be shocked.”
The breach was initially reported on Feb. 17 by CNN and Reuters, while the link to Epstein-related materials was later identified by the French magazine Marianne.
Epstein, a longtime associate of Donald Trump, pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges, including soliciting an underage girl. He was later found hanged in his jail cell in 2019 — a death ruled a suicide — after being arrested again on federal charges of sex trafficking minors.
The hack occurred after a server at the child exploitation forensic lab in the FBI’s New York field office was inadvertently left vulnerable by Aaron Spivack, a special agent attempting to navigate the bureau’s complex procedures for handling digital evidence, according to the source and the documents.
A timeline written by Spivack — included in a large cache of Epstein-related documents released earlier this year — stated that the breach occurred on Feb. 12, 2023.
The intrusion was discovered the following day when Spivack logged into his computer and found a text file warning that his network had been compromised, according to the document.
Further investigation uncovered traces of unusual activity on the server, the timeline said, noting that the activity “included combing through certain files pertaining to the Epstein investigation.”
The document does not specify which files were accessed, whether any data was downloaded, or who was responsible for the hack. Reuters was unable to determine whether the compromised data overlapped with Epstein documents released earlier this year or with files that remain sealed.
