Revelations in the Government Computer Intrusion
The following is the 10th in a series of excerpts from my New York Times bestseller “Stonewalled,” which recounts the government intrusions of my computers. More excerpts to follow.
I’ve been an Apple user since my first personal computer purchase circa 1989I’ve been an Apple user since my first personal computer purchase circa 1989. My Macintosh, my Quadra, my Color Classic, my Performa, my iMac. As far as I know, I’ve never had viruses or major malfunctions with my Apples. I replace them not because they break but because they eventually run out of memory or I want the next generation. But now, my Apple iMac desktop begins a new behavior I’ve never before observed: it winds itself into a fever. The fan starts churning and the pitch gets higher and becomes so loud, it sounds as if it’s going to explode. We shut it down and restart it but it happens again. On the third day of this, my daughter runs from the computer down to the kitchen.
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“It’s burning up!” she tells me.
I rush to the iMac to find it frozen, whining in its pre-explosion- sounding state, and it won’t let me shut it down. This time there’s a pungent smell of burning electronics. I reach underneath the desk and unplug it: that’s all she wrote. The iMac is deceased. R.I.P., faithful Apple, you were so young.
My husband and I are weighing whether and how to file a criminal complaint over the intrusion. A crime has been committed. Someone has, in essence, illegally entered my property and violated the privacy of my entire family. They’ve stolen my property by rifling through my work and removing data. They’ve placed classified materials on my computer for motives that can’t be considered anything but nefarious. But when the culprit is believed to be connected to the government, to whom, exactly, does one go to complain? Can you really turn to the Justice Department’s FBI when the Justice Department might be part of the plot? I consult some trusted advisors and decide to file a complaint with the Department of Justice inspector general.
Every federal agency has its own inspector general designed to serve as an independent watchdog. The way I figure it, the best-case scenario is that the IG is honest and conducts a real investigation. Worst-case scenario: nothing comes of it, but at least the inquiry puts operative insiders on official alert: your actions are known and being probed. The idea is to try to create an environment that makes their deception and cover-up that much more difficult. So on April 3, 2013, I file the complaint. It’s six weeks before the government snooping scandals would be revealed.
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In a way, I’m at the center of the ultimate story. As disturbing as it is, I also find it intriguing. A widening circle of sources and contacts is interested, too. Some of them want to help me. They clue me into the many possibilities that exist. There are a thousand ways to spy on a private citizen. When we meet, before they speak to me, they put away their smartphones and tell me to lose mine, too. They don’t want to talk in my house. I lose count of how many of them tell me that the government—or anyone with skill—can remotely turn on my smartphones and listen to me. Not just when I’m using the phone, but even when I think it’s powered down. As long as the battery’s in it, they can activate the microphone to hear what I’m doing and to whom I’m speaking. And when they’re doing this, the phone doesn’t appear to be on at all. Other sources tell me that sophisticated intruders have the capability to suck information out of my smartphones and computers, or for that matter put stuff in them, without even physically connecting to them. The devices simply have to be in proximity to the perpetrator’s smartphone or device. Just innocently put one on a table next to another and Floop! it’s compromised. How many times have I set my BlackBerry or iPhone near a colleague’s, a stranger’s, or a business associate’s? And pretty much all of my self-appointed advisors tell me to use burner phones, which I am. They suggest I should have an acquaintance who’s not closely connected to me purchase the device and buy the minutes. Switch it out a lot. One intelligence source advises me to remove the phone battery before I cross the threshold into my driveway. Don’t put the battery in or use the phone while in my house.
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Two acquaintances with knowledge of government surveillance and spy methods insist on sweeping my house and vehicle for bugs and signs of intrusions. They don’t know each other and each uses different methods. They’re not official, professional sweeps, just what can be done with devices like simple signal detectors and a FLIR thermal imaging device. They feel that the government has overstepped its bounds by spying on me, and helping me makes them feel like they’re doing something about it.
To Be Continued…
Read excerpt #1 here: The Computer Intrusions: Up at Night
#2: Big Brother: First Warnings
#3: The Computer Intrusions: Disappearing Act
#4: The Incredible, Elusive “Verizon Man”
#5: I Spy: The Government’s Secrets
#6: Computer Intrusions: The Discovery
#7: Notifying CBS About the Government Computer Intrusions
#8: The MCALLEN Case: Computer Intrusion Confirmed
#9: The Disruptions Continue
Original source: https://sharylattkisson.com/2018/12/02/revelations-in-the-government-computer-intrusion/
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