Tag Archive for: high

HSI Baltimore speaks to high school coaches, athletic directors at national high school champions’ summit

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WASHINGTON — Special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore addressed a crowd of high school coaches and athletic directors from across the country at the inaugural Inner Circle of High School Athletics Leadership Summit at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on June 23.

The summit featured a collection of guest speakers, including former professional athletes, professional sports executives and community leaders.

“HSI Baltimore was pleased to participate in the high school leadership summit,” said HSI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris. “We had the opportunity to address the men and women responsible for guiding the next generation of leaders. As law enforcement officials, we share with these coaches a responsibility to set an example for young people. It is truly an honor to be able to contribute in such a forum.”

The summit focused on providing these coaches and athletic directors with information and tools they can use to prepare their student athletes for the next phase in their athletic and professional careers.

Speakers addressed a variety of topics that coaches don’t usually have the opportunity to address during practice, including financial management, mental health, physical fitness, academics and internet safety. The special agents from HSI Baltimore spoke to the crowd about the potential pitfalls of social media.

“Many of the topics discussed are not necessarily lessons that athletes learn in practice or by competing in games,” said HSI Baltimore Assistant Special Agent in Charge Freddie Taylor. “Still, they address challenges that young competitors will have to face off of the field. Coaches hold a position of trust among their young athletes, and often times, they are best suited to have these conversations with their players.”

The summit was an invitation-only event. Attendees were coaches and athletic directors of high schools from across the nation whose programs had won sports championships within the last six years.

According to the hosts of the summit, its primary goal was to present content that tackles foundational elements that can determine the current and future quality of life for…

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Grooming cases at record high amid online safety laws delay

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Rani Govender, senior policy officer at the NSPCC, said: “We don’t think there’s a trade-off between safety and privacy, we think it’s about investing in those technical solutions which we know are out there, that can deliver for the privacy and safety of all users on these services.”

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Global ransomware attacks at all-time high: Report

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The global ransomware attacks are at an all-time high, and the US is the primary target, a new report has said.

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Global ransomware attacks at an all-time high and the US is the primary target

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Global ransomware attacks are on the rise, according to a The study shows a massive surge from July 2022 to June 2023, with the United States bearing the brunt of these attacks. The organization noted that of the 1,900 reported ransomware attacks collected, over 43 percent originate in the U.S, an increase of 75 percent from last year’s findings.

Germany, France and the UK also experienced an uptick in deployed ransomware, but at a lower rate than the United States. The report details 48 separate ransomware groups that attacked American companies, governmental organizations and garden variety consumers during the aforementioned time period. Even worse? Healthcare and educational institutions were disproportionately impacted. For instance, dental insurer Managed Care of North America (MCNA) and the New York City Department of Education

It’s worth noting that the study conducted by Malwarebytes shows only reported incidents, so the actual number of attacks could be much higher than 1,900. The whole point of a ransomware attack is to, well, exact a ransom, so some organizations make the payout and keep things quiet.

What exactly is a ransomware attack? It’s malware expressly designed to deny users and organizations access to files on a computer. The software locks everything up tight and when you pay the ransom, you receive a decryption key to regain access to the files. It’s a digital shakedown.

The biggest global offender is a ransomware gang called Clop, long-suspected to The criminal organization has evolved in the past year, capitalizing on zero-day software vulnerabilities to amp up the scope of its attacks. Back in June, the group took advantage of one of these vulnerabilities in enterprise file transfer software to breach the servers of hundreds of companies, including the largest US pension fund.

Malwarebytes says this transition to zero-day software exploits, instead of phishing emails and virus-laden downloads, could “signal a change in the game” and explain the increase in reported incidents.

As for the rest of the world, France’s numbers doubled in the past year, with a disproportionate number of attacks levied at governmental institutions. The UK…

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