Attkisson: Hacker Highly Skilled, Used Very Sophisticated Methods

Attkisson: Hacker Highly Skilled, Used Very Sophisticated Methods

CBS News investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson appeared on “CBS This Morning” to discuss the hacking of her computer, which CBS News says they have verified through what Attkisson describes as an “independent cyber-security firm.” She added that whomever did the hack was “highly skilled and used very sophisticated methods.”

Throughout the reign of Barack Obama, Attkisson has distinguished herself in media as the rare reporter actually willing to do more than protect, cheerlead, and play stenographer for the White House. She has aggressively pursued two scandals the rest of the media have either ignored or tried to cover up: Benghazi and Fast and Furious.

Though Attkisson wouldn’t speculate about the who or why of the hack, she did say that the hunt was on to track down the hacker. In a statement released last week, CBS said the hack occurred in late 2012.  

Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey looked at the timing of the hack and writes

What was going on in “late 2012″?  Well, that would have been the controversy over the terrorist attack on our consulate in Benghazi.  And, checking the record, we see that Attkisson had a very interesting scoop on October 20th, relying on anonymous military sources that called into question the Obama administration’s claim that they couldn’t have responded in time to assist in the attack.

The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple, who was at first skeptical of Attkisson’s hacking claim, lists all the stories the Emmy-winning reporter was working on at the time and concludes

As the Erik Wemple Blog has previously reported, a list of possible Attkisson-computer intruders includes viruses, criminals, run-of-the-mill hackers and governments, both foreign and domestic. And that’s not an exhaustive list.

Wemple says, though, that the fact that the hacker left fingerprints is evidence our government was not involved:

Clearly the hacker did indeed leave some tracks, tipping off Attkisson to the intrusions. Is that level of ineptitude consistent with the work of one of the world’s leading surveillance states?

In her appearance today, Attkisson said she first became aware of the hack when her “home and work computers were turning themselves on and then back off at night.”

The Department of Justice has denied being behind the hack.

 

Follow  John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC

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