BlueLeaks (DeKalb County Police Department)

Emma North-Best filed this request with the DeKalb County Police Department of Dekalb County, GA.
Multi Request BlueLeaks
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Communications

From: Emma North-Best


To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1. Documents mentioning, describing or generated in response to the BlueLeaks release, the preceding hack or subsequent fallout, including but not limited to:

* Damage assessments
* Emails
* Interagency communications (local, state, or federal)
* Communications with the press about BlueLeaks
* Communications with Twitter or other social media or sharing platforms

2. Documents mentioning or describing Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets)

You may limit this request to records generated between November 1, 2018 and the present.

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

From: DeKalb County Police Department

DeKalb County Police Department, Open Records Unit, acknowledges receipt of your Open Records Request. Please allow up to and including three (3) business days for a response.
[Logo - Graphic]
Dekalb County Police Department (NT)
Open Records Unit, 4th Floor
1960 West Exchange Place
Tucker, GA 30084
Phone: 770-724-7474
Email: dkpdopenrecords@dekalbcountyga.gov<mailto:dkpdopenrecords@dekalbcountyga.gov>

From: DeKalb County Police Department

Ms. Best,

We (DoIT) are not familiar with "BlueLeaks" or any "Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets)" events or communications. Based on the request I need confirmation that the keywords that need to be searched are "BlueLeaks," "Distributed Denial of Secrets," and "DDoSecrets." Please confirm the search terms.

Barry Puckett | Deputy Director of Infrastructure | DeKalb County Government | Bobby Burgess Building | 3630 Camp Circle | Decatur, GA 30032 Email: jbpuckett@dekalbcountyga.gov<mailto:jbpuckett@dekalbcountyga.gov> | http://www.dekalbcountyga.gov<http://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/>

From: Emma North-Best

Those are the keywords/phrases, yes. Please include "Blue Leaks" with the space to account for typos. Thank you so much!

From: DeKalb County Police Department

Date: July 8, 2018

To: Ms.Best,

Thank you for your request to review county records. On July 7, 2018, the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) received a request via email for the following:

Copies of all email messages (received, sent, and deleted) to or from any county staff or official using the domain @dekalbcountyga.gov including the search terms “Blue Leaks,” “BlueLeaks,” “Distributed Denial of Secrets,” “DDoSecrets,” between the dates of November 1, 2018 and July 7, 2020

After reviewing your request, it has been determined that the DoIT is the custodian of record ONLY for associated emails or attachments, if they exist. DeKalb County does not reformat or organize the data as requested. Any reformatting or reorganizing the data is the responsibility of the requestor. The retrieval cost for these records is as outlined below, at $30 per hour (per requested item):

Prepare and Run Open Records criteria searches from Office 365 1 Hour $30.00

Download PST File(s) to a server with available storage 30 Minutes $15.00

Create separate file to copy search requirements 30 Minutes $15.00

Run Law department exclusion search per user 30 Minutes $15.00

Create final PST file for copy 30 Minutes $15.00

Prepare .PST files for distribution 30 Minutes $15.00

Retrieval Cost $105.00

In accordance with the Georgia Open Records Act, the first 15 minutes of the search, retrieval, and other direct administrative tasks associated with complying with the request for a public record are free, therefore the cost of this request is $97.50.

Based on staffing levels and current workload we estimate that it will take up to 5 business days after notification/authorization to proceed for completion of this request. These timelines are contingent upon receiving notification/authorization that you would like for us to proceed and are willing to pay the associated costs.

Once documents and records are retrieved from our system, a filter is used to separate attorney client privilege and attorney work product records. The discs are then sent to the Law Department for redaction as authorized by O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(41) (42). Upon receipt, the Law Department will provide you with a written estimate of costs for review and redaction and an anticipated date for production.

The County and its officials and departments do not produce documents or records that are protected by the attorney-client privilege or the attorney work product doctrine under Georgia or federal law or that are otherwise exempt from production under the Georgia Open Records Act. The County expressly reserves and does not waive any statutory exemptions from disclosure provided by O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72, et seq. and other applicable laws.

Barry Puckett | Deputy Director of Infrastructure | DeKalb County Government | Bobby Burgess Building | 3630 Camp Circle | Decatur, GA 30032 | Cell: 404.637.4134 | Email: jbpuckett@dekalbcountyga.gov<mailto:jbpuckett@dekalbcountyga.gov> | http://www.dekalbcountyga.gov<http://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/>
Skype: jbpuckett
NOTE: Email is provided to employees for the administrative needs of the county. Email correspondence to/from a county email account is considered public information and subject to release under Georgia laws or pursuant to subpoena.
To report issues for tracking and accountability. Please click on the link below and create a ticket using our helpdesk software. This will ensure that your request is handled promptly and if you need assistance creating a ticket, please click on the solutions tab and watch a quick training video.
Department of Innovation & Technology Helpdesk Self-service Web Site: https://helpdesk.dekalbcountyga.gov<https://helpdesk.dekalbcountyga.gov/>
Department of Innovation & Technology Helpdesk Telephone Number: 404.371.2363

________________________________
From: requests@muckrock.com <requests@muckrock.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 7, 2020 6:04 PM
To: Puckett, Barry <jbpuckett@dekalbcountyga.gov>
Cc: DKPD Open Records Unit <DKPDOpenRecords@dekalbcountyga.gov>; Matelski, John <jmatelski@dekalbcountyga.gov>; Bond, Dexter Q. <dqbond@dekalbcountyga.gov>; McDonald, Nikisha L. <nMcDonald@dekalbcountyga.gov>
Subject: RE: Georgia Open Records Act Request: BlueLeaks (DeKalb County Police Department)

DeKalb County Police Department
ORA Office
1960 West Exchange Place
Tucker, GA 30084

July 7, 2020

This is a follow up to a previous request:

Those are the keywords/phrases, yes. Please include "Blue Leaks" with the space to account for typos. Thank you so much!

Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
Upload documents directly: https://accounts.muckrock.com/accounts/login/?url_auth_token=AAAz7W77_bTqHPDJtuBvbl22yQ4%3A1jsvhQ%3AswBwmsBQf_kB9yfjWM-hcUrVlbM&next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.muckrock.com%2Faccounts%2Flogin%2F%3Fnext%3D%252Faccounts%252Fagency_login%252Fdekalb-county-police-department-9463%252Fblueleaks-dekalb-county-police-department-96979%252F%253Femail%253Djbpuckett%252540dekalbcountyga.gov
Is this email coming to the wrong contact? Something else wrong? Use the above link to let us know.

For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 96979
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.

---

On June 30, 2020:
Subject: Re: Georgia Open Records Act Request: BlueLeaks (DeKalb County Police Department)
Ms. Best,

We (DoIT) are not familiar with "BlueLeaks" or any "Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets)" events or communications. Based on the request I need confirmation that the keywords that need to be searched are "BlueLeaks," "Distributed Denial of Secrets," and "DDoSecrets." Please confirm the search terms.

Barry Puckett | Deputy Director of Infrastructure | DeKalb County Government | Bobby Burgess Building | 3630 Camp Circle | Decatur, GA 30032 Email: jbpuckett@dekalbcountyga.gov<mailto:jbpuckett@dekalbcountyga.gov> | http://www.dekalbcountyga.gov<http://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/>

---

On June 29, 2020:
Subject: RE: Georgia Open Records Act Request: BlueLeaks (DeKalb County Police Department)
DeKalb County Police Department, Open Records Unit, acknowledges receipt of your Open Records Request. Please allow up to and including three (3) business days for a response.
[Logo - Graphic]
Dekalb County Police Department (NT)
Open Records Unit, 4th Floor
1960 West Exchange Place
Tucker, GA 30084
Phone: 770-724-7474
Email: dkpdopenrecords@dekalbcountyga.gov<mailto:dkpdopenrecords@dekalbcountyga.gov>

---

On June 25, 2020:
Subject: Georgia Open Records Act Request: BlueLeaks (DeKalb County Police Department)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1. Documents mentioning, describing or generated in response to the BlueLeaks release, the preceding hack or subsequent fallout, including but not limited to:

* Damage assessments
* Emails
* Interagency communications (local, state, or federal)
* Communications with the press about BlueLeaks
* Communications with Twitter or other social media or sharing platforms

2. Documents mentioning or describing Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets)

You may limit this request to records generated between November 1, 2018 and the present.

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
Upload documents directly: https://accounts.muckrock.com/accounts/login/?url_auth_token=AAAz7W77_bTqHPDJtuBvbl22yQ4%3A1jsvhQ%3AswBwmsBQf_kB9yfjWM-hcUrVlbM&next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.muckrock.com%2Faccounts%2Flogin%2F%3Fnext%3D%252Faccounts%252Fagency_login%252Fdekalb-county-police-department-9463%252Fblueleaks-dekalb-county-police-department-96979%252F%253Femail%253Djbpuckett%252540dekalbcountyga.gov
Is this email coming to the wrong contact? Something else wrong? Use the above link to let us know.

For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 96979
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.

To reply to this request, enter the 8 letter security code that was included with the request letter.
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