The Alicia Project
Connect with us!
  • Home
  • About Alicia Kozakiewicz
  • Internet Safety Tips
  • Contact
  • Alicias Law
  • Testimonials
  • Partners
  • Report
  • In the News
  • AliciaKozak.com

Experts Talk About Protecting Our Kids from Online Predators

4/24/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
On New Year's Day in 2002, Alicia Kozakiewicz was lured away from her family home by Scott Tyree, a man who had corresponded with the 13-year-old girl for a year in a Yahoo chat room. Over the course of several days, Kozakiewicz was held captive and assaulted by Tyree, who broadcast the attack over live streaming video. She was rescued by the FBI after an anonymous tip led agents to Tyree's Virginia home. On Thursday, Kozakiewicz (pictured above) brought her dramatic story to the 2015 RSA Security Conference in San Francisco, where she joined several other speakers for a panel entitled "Into the Woods: Protecting Our Youth from the Wolves of Cyberspace." She currently heads The Alicia Project, an advocacy group aimed at educating the public about sexual exploitation, online predators, and abduction.

"In order to keep up with my friendships, I got a screen name and began talking to my friends from school, who introduced me to their friends, and their friends, and their friends, until I was really in a realm of people I didn't know all that well, but we felt very connected because it could be traced back to that one person," Kozakiewicz told the audience.

Wide-Ranging Panel

The session was moderated by Sandra Toms, Vice President at RSA and Curator of the RSA Conference. Joining Kozakiewicz on stage was Sharon Cooper, a developmental and forensic pediatrician who evaluates and treats children who have been victims of various types of abuse; Michael Osborn, Chief of the Violent Crimes Against Children Unit for the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Lance Spitzner, Training Director for SANS Securing The Human.

The overwhelming consensus among the panelists is that effective communication by parents and other trusted adults with children about their online activities is crucial to preventing potential problems. Cooper also emphasized the fact that children typically do not have the emotional maturity necessary to cope with feelings of shame or guilt if naked photos of them wind up online, which makes them vulnerable to manipulation or extortion by predators.

Two Major Threats

The FBI has seen two significant trends in this area, Osborn said. The first is the increased use of remote wiping technology by criminals in an attempt to impede law enforcement investigations. In some instances, that is combined with increasingly sophisticated encryption technology.

The second disturbing development is the growth in sextortion cases, in which predators obtain nude photos of potential victims and then use those photos to extort more explicit photos or sexual contact. In some instances, victims supply the photos that are used for sextortion when they share nude photos of themselves, Osborn said. In other cases, the predators obtain the photos using a variety of techniques, including malware, social engineering (persuading or duping victims into sharing photos), or by lurking in chat rooms to strike up conversations with impressionable teens and tweens like Kozakiewicz.

"Grooming is a term we might hear a lot these days, but it's so, so simple," Kozakiewicz said. "All it is, is being a child's friend. And that's what he did to me. He made believe that he was my friend. And he made me think things and feel things about myself that kids don't feel every single day of their lives. He made me feel beautiful and important and special and unique. And told me what I wanted to hear versus what I needed to hear."

By Frederick Lane

See more:
http://www.toptechnews.com/article/index.php?story_id=120003R570YO
0 Comments

Alicia Kozakiewicz RSA Conference Keynote: Into the Woods: Protecting Our Youth from the Wolves of Cyberspace

4/23/2015

1 Comment

 
Today's headlines are crowded with stories of kids who fall victim to cybercrimes, including online bullying and predatory behavior. We can't supervise every dark corner of the Internet, so what is the answer? Stricter laws? Aggressive pursuit of offenders? Education of our kids? This keynote panel will discuss challenges and offer solutions designed to ensure the safety of our children.
Picture
See more: https://www.rsaconference.com/events/us15/agenda/sessions/1982/into-the-woods-protecting-our-youth-from-the-wolves
1 Comment

New law means more tools to fight internet child porn

4/21/2015

0 Comments

 
WDRB 41 Louisville News
FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- State Police call internet child pornography the fastest growing crime in Kentucky. Now police will have more resources as they try to hit “delete” on the problem.

WDRB watched as a forensic investigator performed an autopsy - on a laptop. If there are illegal images of child porn on its hard drive, he'll find them.

“We're looking for evidence, just in a different kind of way,” said Lt. Jeremy Murrell, commander of the Kentucky State Police Electronic Crimes Unit.

Nine people, including four detectives, make up the Internet Crimes Against Children or ICAC unit. They team with other agencies across the state to track down child predators.

“We're working the file sharing networks, called peer to peer, and we're looking for people that are advertising known child exploitative images to download,” said Murrell.

The unit is paid for primarily with federal funds, but will soon get an infusion of state dollars.

“We'd like to grow our task force. We'd like to get more people involved,” Murrell said.

The General Assembly passed, and the governor has now signed HB 427, Alicia's Law; named after Alicia Kozakiewicz.

She was abducted by an Internet stalker, at age 13, bound, raped and tortured.

“But I was miraculously rescued because of the FBI; because they had the funding and the resources to find and rescue me,” Kozakiewicz told WDRB in February before successfully testifying in front of a House committee.

The law adds a $10 fine to every criminal conviction in Kentucky, with the money going to ICAC.

Supporters say it could amount to $3 million a year. It means more personnel, more training and more equipment.

“To combat this problem, we need the best computers there are. And those aren't cheap,” said Murrell.

The unit has made 20 arrests so far this year, already more than last year.

The increased funding sends a clear message that Kentucky is serious about internet crimes involving children.

“Every arrest we make, in my opinion, rescues a child,” said Murrell.

This is one issue where Kentucky is on the cutting edge: it's just the ninth state to adopt Alicia's Law.

Copyright 2015 WDRB News. All rights reserved


0 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    June 2017
    January 2017
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    June 2014
    March 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    October 2007

As seen on
Picture
Connect with us!
info@aliciaproject.org
mediainquiries@aliciaproject.org
Picture