CBS News Confirms Sharyl Attkisson's Work Computer Was Repeatedly Breached During Benghazi and Fast-and-Furious Reporting
On June 14, 2013, CBS News issued a public statement confirming that a forensic examination of investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson's work laptop found evidence of unauthorized external intrusions in late 2012, while she was reporting on Benghazi and the ATF 'Fast and Furious' gun-walking scandal. Attkisson said a separate forensic analysis of her personal computer also showed intrusions consistent with government-grade spyware.
Attkisson, then a CBS News investigative correspondent, told her network in early 2013 that both her CBS-issued laptop and her personal Apple computer were behaving erratically. CBS retained an independent cybersecurity firm to examine the CBS laptop; on June 14, 2013 the network publicly stated that 'evidence suggests an unauthorized, external, unknown party had access to Attkisson's computer in late 2012.' Attkisson subsequently commissioned a separate forensic examination of her personal devices by a source she described as a former government cyber-specialist; that analysis, later summarized in her book 'Stonewalled' (2014), reported the presence of proprietary software 'consistent with those used by U.S. government intelligence agencies,' along with classified documents allegedly planted on her drive. The Department of Justice denied any involvement. The intrusion coincided with her aggressive reporting on the September 2012 Benghazi attack and the ATF's 'Operation Fast and Furious.'