Case Document 157 Filed 02/16/16 Page 1 of 3

The Honorable Robert .I. Bryan

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

 

 

 

 

AT TACOMA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. NO.CR15-5351RJB
Plamt?? DECLARATION OF FBI SPECIAL
AGENT DANIEL ALFIN IN SUPPORT
OF GOVERNMENTS SURREPLY TO
THIRD MOTION TO
JAY MICHAUD, COMPEL
Defendant.
1, Daniel Al?n, declare as follows:
1. I am a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 1 am currently

assigned to FBI Headquarters, Criminal Investigative Division, Violent Crimes Against
Children Section, Major Case Coordination Unit. My duties involve the investigation of
individuals using various types of technology to produce. distribute, and trade child
pornography.

2. I have been involved in the FBI investigation ofthe Playpen website since
it came online in approximately August 2014. Playpen was a website that existed on an
anonymous network and was dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child
pornography. My duties have involved the review ol?Playpen on multiple occasions,
engagement in undercover activities on Playpen. and the coordination of investigative
UNITED ATTORNEY
STREET. SUITE 5200

SEATTLE. WASHINGTON 93 0]
(20-5) 553-79?0

DECLARATION OF DANIEL ALFIN - I







 

 

Case Document 157 Filed 02/16/16 Page 2 of 3

activity with regard to identi?ed members ofPlaypen such as the defendant, Mr.
Michaud.

3. In preparing this declaration, I have reviewed evidence and spoken with
FBI personnel familiar with the facts and circumstances outlined below. I provide the
following summary of the information I have learned as a result.

4. A query of an FBI database containing the information gathered as part of
this investigation through the use of the NIT revealed the following: 1) there are no
duplicate unique identifiers within the database. meaning that each identi?er assigned to
an individual Playpen user is in fact unique; 2) the identi?er associated with the username
?Pewter? was in fact unique; and 3) there are no identi?ers in the database other than
those generated by the deployment ofa NIT as part of this investigation.

5. The NIT computer instructions provided to the defense on January I l,
2016, comprise the only "payload" executed on Michaud?s computer as part ofthe FBI
investigation resulting in his arrest and indictment in this case. Accordingly, the defense
has been given access to the only ?payload? as that term is used by the defense in its
Third Motion to Compel, accompanying Declaration.

6. The government has advised the defense that it is willing to make available
for its review the two-way network data stream showing the data sent back-and-forth
between Michaud?s computer and the government-controlled computer as a result ofthe
execution of the NIT.

7. Review of this data stream reflecting the information transmitted to the FBI
from Michaud?s computer as a result of the deployment ofthe NIT con?rms that the data
sent from Michaud?s computer is identical to the data the government provided as part of
discovery. Additionally, that data was contained within the Cygnus report which was
entered as Government exhibit 15 during the January 22. 2016. hearing in this matter.

3. Review of the network data stream also con?rms that that no images were

transmitted from Michaud?s computer to a government-controlled computer or from a

UNITED ATTORNEY
T00 Sum: 5200
Saarrl?. 93 ?ll
(206} 

DECLARATION OF DANIEL ALFIN - 2





 

 

Case Document 157 Filed 02/16/16 Page 3 of 3

government-controlled computer to Michaud?s computer as a result ofthe execution of
the NIT.

9. After the NIT collected the information that it was permitted to collect via
the computer instructions sent to Michaud?s computer. there was nothing that resided on
Michaud?s computer that would allow the government (or some other user) to go back
and further access that computer.

EXECUTED: February 16, 2016.

. f? I.  

DANIEKAEFW 
Special Agent, FBI

UNITED 
7'00 SUITE 
SEATTLE. 93101
(206] 

DECLARATION OF DANIEL ALFIN - 3