The person familiar with the breach said the intrusion was carried out by a foreign hacker who did not appear ​to realize they had penetrated ⁠a law enforcement server. The hacker expressed disgust at the presence of child abuse images on the device and left a message threatening to turn its owner over to the FBI, the person said.

The source said bureau officials defused the situation by convincing the hacker that they actually were the FBI, in part by having the hacker join a video chat where they flashed their law enforcement credentials in front ⁠of a web ​camera.

Every time I think we’ve reached peak dumb, it keeps getting dumber. Accidentally a whole server and then hop on Zoom with the FBI, sure, why not. It’s too stupid to be made up but maybe that’s just another way of trying to slip below the radar.