Former FBI lawyer says his home computer was accessed by hacker from China
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A former deputy general counsel in the FBI says a hacker from China apparently accessed his computer.
The lawyer, Marion “Spike” Bowman, is a lecturer on national security law at George Washington University and chairs the board of directors for the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. Before joining the FBI, he was a Navy lawyer advising on clandestine operations.
Bowman tells Newsweek that he learned about the hack after the FBI examined his computer.
Bowman says the hacker apparently gained access through email. He received an email last spring, “supposedly from a woman in China” who wanted an opinion on a document supposedly written by her friend. She also included a photo. “I never got around to replying, so I never heard from her again,” Bowman tells Newsweek.
Then about a week ago, he got another message from China on his university email account. It purported to be from a university in China that wanted him to speak at an environmental conference, though the environment isn’t among his areas of expertise. He called the FBI.
Bowman says the FBI informed him the agency found malware “designed to find out what’s on my computer.” The FBI believes it has identified the woman in the picture and “it was somebody that they knew,” Bowman said.
Bowman says he carries “deep Cold War secrets in my head,” but not on his computer.
