The cyber security chief at the Financial Times, Ahana Datta, Columbia Journalism Review, February 17, 2020, reports that a Middle Eastern government used spyware on the cell phones of reporters investigating surveillance of journalists and activists. Datta wrote, “…in my experience the incidence has spiked since the 2016 elections in Britain and America, when such efforts came off without consequence. State actors seem to feel they can now act with impunity.”
It was revealed in 2018 that the Trump administration could use the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to sidestep the court system in authorizing spying on journalists. The procedures were developed by the Justice Department under President Barack Obama. (The Intercept, September 17, 2018, by Cora Currier)
Former CBS correspondent Sharyl Attkisson filed last month to reopen her dismissed case against the Obama Justice Department for illegally spying on her. She now claims she has new information to bolster her claim the government invaded her computers while she reported on issues including the 2012 attack on the U.S. in Benghazi, Libya. She said the government conducted the spying without a court order. (The Hill, January 10. 2020, by John Kruzel)
For related FAC coverage on the issue, click here, here and here.