Tag:
Digital Security
Lower Providence, PA
News
Lower Providece Man Caught On Cruise Ship With Child Porn Charged In Global Exploitation Ring
A Pennsylvania man returning from a cruise was intercepted by U.S. Customs and found with a secret folder of child pornography on his phone, leading to 46 felony charges after investigators uncovered his alleged role in an international child exploitation ring, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele announced on Friday, Aug. 1. Matthew Thomas Pappalardo, 38, of Casselberry Drive, Lower Providence, allegedly used encrypted apps and hidden folders to collect and trade child sexual abuse material while chatting with minors as young as 13, according to a criminal complaint. **WARNI…
Dundalk, MD
Schools
Antisemitic, Racist, Pornographic Video Interrupts Baltimore Schools Board Meeting: Officials
An unauthorized person hijacked a Baltimore City Public Schools board meeting with a hateful pornographic video, prompting officials to pause the livestream and launch a hate crime investigation on Tuesday, July 22. The disruption occurred during the public comment portion of the virtual meeting, when an individual accessed the platform and aired content described by Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) as “antisemitic, racist, and obscene adult material.” The board halted the meeting immediately after detecting the graphic, BCPS spokesperson Sherry Christian confirmed. “The meeting was rec…
Beltsville, MD
News
Beltsville Man Produced, Watched Child Porn Before Arrest, State Police Say
A Prince George’s County man is behind bars after Maryland State Police say they found disturbing images on his phone during a months-long child pornography investigation. A Beltsville man is facing a stack of felony charges after state police troopers arrested him in connection with the production, possession, and viewing of child pornography, authorities announced on Friday, May 30. Edwin Antonio Valdez Olivar, 41, was taken into custody without incident at his home in Beltsville following a coordinated operation by state and federal law enforcement, officials said. He is charged with: …
Columbia, MD
News
'Peeping Tom' Admits To Recording Women Illegally, Stealing Data In Columbia: Prosecutors
A Peeping Tom who secretly filmed women and stole data from patients' cellphones at his job in Howard County copped to the crime and is facing prison time, according to the state's attorney's office. Owings Mills resident Delano Draine, 43, pleaded guilty this week to eight counts of illegal computer access and four counts related to visual surveillance for incidents involving several women and a young girl, authorities announced. He was initially indicted on 68 charges related to recordings in a dressing room, upskirt videos of women, and illegally accessing private media of patients …
Arlington, VA
News
Should Parents Be Concerned Over Apple's New 'NameDrop' Feature?
Concerns are mounting over a feature on Apple's new iOS 17 update, but tech experts and some law enforcement officials say NameDrop is safe. NameDrop allows contact information to be shared with other Apple users. But not without both devices having iOS 17 installed. And not without being extremely close, or touching. And not without consent. To initiate the transfer of contact information, both devices must have the new update, be unlocked, and be very close or touching for several seconds. Then, a screen will appear at the top of the device with prompts to "receive only" or "share." T…
Newark, NJ
News
Worldwide Ransomware Rampage: Iranians Hack NJ Town, PA Domestic Violence Shelter, Feds Charge
Federal authorities are offering a $10 million reward to help locate a trio of Iranian nationals who held the computer systems of a New Jersey town, a domestic violence shelter in Pennsylvania and hundreds of other victims across the U.S. and abroad hostage in a series of hack attacks. Using Microsoft’s BitLocker security tool, the hackers locked up and then stole secure files before sending ransom notes – some of which were spit out on the victims’ printers, the FBI said on Wednesday, Sept. 14. The unidentified shelter ended up paying $13,000 in bitcoin to retrieve its files, according to …
Mahwah-Ramsey, NJ
News
Covid-
19
Scam
ALERT: Contact Tracer Or Con Artist? Here's How To Tell
In case you haven’t already heard, identity thieves have been texting people pretending to be coronavirus contact tracers in order to steal their money. Contact tracers are hired by public health departments to get hold of people who’ve had close contact with those who've tested positive for COVID-19. The goal is to warn those people to self-quarantine, and monitor their systems daily, in case they may have been infected themselves. Contract tracing has helped curb the spread of COVID-19. But, as with any public emergency, it’s also become a popular tool for scammers looking to take y…
DV Plus - Westchester, NY
Schools
Area Schools Expand Mental Health Training For Teachers
With one of every five American children suffering from a diagnosable mental illness, more area school districts have expanded teacher training for early intervention. At least 31 school districts in Westchester utilize Global Compliance Network (GCN) training. GCN's training includes online and some face-to-face lessons that include emergency response, code of conduct, child abuse and digital security. For the first time this year, the lessons include a mental health component with questions after the training. Nine lessons take about two hours to complete, according to some local t…
Stamford, CT
Lifestyle
Twitter Says It Will Delete Millions Of Accounts
Twitter users may soon see a lot fewer followers, as the company prepares to purge the system from locked accounts that have been disabled due to suspicious activity. Officials said that locked accounts occur when they see sudden changes in behavior. They then reach out to the owners of the accounts and unless they validate the account and reset their passwords, they stay locked with no ability to log in. “We are committed to building trust and encouraging healthy conversations on Twitter,” the company posted. “Follower counts should be meaningful and accurate. We are removing locked accoun…
