Cybertraps for Educators: Digest #2021-11-29
Highlights from the week of November 22-28, 2021
Welcome back from the holiday weekend. I hope that everyone had a pleasant Thanksgiving. This newsletter is a bit shorter than usual, but here are the topics I cover in this week’s issue:
Multiple Cybertraps in London Sexual Assault Case
$1 Billion in Grants Available for K-12 Cybersecurity
Search of NY Teacher’s Computers Uncovers Huge Collection of Child Pornography
Teachers Grappling with Abusive TikTok Videos
Selfie-Incrimination in School Voyeurism Case
Last Week’s Episodes of “The Cybertraps Podcast”
Cybertraps #97 — Live Your Values with Richard Shell
Cybertraps #96 — School Districts Struggling to Cope with Rise of Social Media Threats [Live]
You can subscribe to "The Cybertraps Podcast" on Apple Podcast or on your podcast player of preference.
“The Cybertraps Podcast” is recorded live most Mondays at noon Eastern. You can watch the recording on the Cybertraps Facebook page.
Sexual Assault Conviction Derails Promising Career of PE Teacher
Case Illustrates Multiple Types of Electronic Misconduct
A nominee for “Sports Teacher of the Year” in England was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to seven charges of serious misconduct, ranging from sexual assault of a minor student to production and possession “of indecent photographs of a girl under the age of 17.” Erin Hebblewhite, 29, a former physical education teacher at the prestigious Connaught School for Girls in East London, was sentenced to two years in jail and given a 10-year restraining order that prohibits her from contacting the victim or working with children.
All of the charges of sexual activity with the girl, including kissing on the premises of the east London school, took place in the same year Hebblewhite was shortlisted for the award.
As gossip spread during the course of the relationship, believing the rumours to be untrue, the school even warned Hebblewhite to be ‘careful’ otherwise she could ‘get into trouble’, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
The offending came to light when the teen's phone was seized by her mother and a family member was able to find explicit messages despite pleas from Hebblewhite for the girl to delete them.
C4E Issue(s):
1. Why Are You Texting Flirty Messages to a Student?
This case is another illustration of why teachers should not engage in one-to-one text message conversations with students. Educators and staff should be required to either use school-run messaging platforms (which hopefully are archivable) or to include at least one other adult in every communication with a student. Either approach would significantly reduce the likelihood that an adult would send flirtatious messages to a student. Obviously, if one or both of the individuals involved is determined to engage in illicit behavior, it is almost impossible to stop altogether. But by frequently reminding staff (and students) of the appropriate channels and modes of communication, people have a chance to reflect on what they are doing and why.
2. Obstruction of Justice Almost Never Works.
As is so often the case, Hebblewhite pleaded with her victim to delete the messages that the two had exchanged. While deleting messages can make it more difficult to recover them, it is a rare case in which nothing can be recovered. Mobile forensics tools are growing steadily more powerful, which means that things that people thought were destroyed can often be retrieved or reconstructed. Moreover, even if someone does delete messages or other electronic data, that’s no guarantee that the information has not been preserved in some other fashion (for instance, screenshots or photos using another device). Never forget: “Information wants to be free” (Stewart Brand, 1984).
3. Selfie-Incrimination Is Powerful Evidence for Prosecutors.
The judge overseeing this case gave credit to Hebblewhite for accepting responsibility and admitting guilt early in the process. Her decision may well have been driven by genuine remorse but it may also have been driven, at least in part, by the fact that the search of her home turned up a USB stick with “400 relevant images including both the defendant and [the complainant] naked and in bed together as well as images of them kissing as a couple.” It’s hard to imagine an easier case for a prosecutor.
4. Should the School Have Investigated More Aggressively?
It is not always true that “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” but when the potential consequences are severe (such as sexual assault of a minor), there’s little downside in taking strong steps to make sure that no inappropriate conduct is taking place. That’s particularly true when matters have reached the stage where gossip is being widely shared about a possible relationship. It’s unclear exactly what school officials did, apart from issuing a warning, but a good case can be made that they should have done more.
Dan Sales, “Female PE teacher, 29, shortlisted for sports teaching award weeps as she's jailed for two years for having 'intense and passionate' affair with girl pupil, 16, after grooming her with flirty text messages,” Daily Mail, November 24, 2021 [ last accessed on 24 November 2021 at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10237975/Female-PE-teacher-29-jailed-two-years-having-intense-passionate-affair-pupil.html ].
Congress Appropriates $1 Billion to Improve School Cybersecurity
The Dept. of Homeland Security Is Also Developing a School Cybersecurity Toolkit
Among its myriad provisions, the massive Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in November 2021 contains substantial funds to help vulnerable schools improve their cybersecurity. Members of Congress are urging school districts to apply for these newly-available federal cyberware grants.
The Department of Homeland Security cybersecurity grant program will provide money to schools from across the country to recover from ransomware attacks and to fortify their systems from future cyber intrusions. […]
The bipartisan infrastructure bill authorizes $1 billion for cybersecurity assistance to state and local governments over the next four years — with one-fourth of those funds dedicated to particularly vulnerable communities such as Long Island. The money, [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer said, cannot be used to pay ransom to hackers.
The bill also funds the creation of a new cyber director office to coordinate the federal response to major hacks and creates a $100 million response and recovery fund to support entities that have been hit by significant cyberattacks.
If you are unsure of how to apply for the cybersecurity funds, contact the office of your federal Representative or one of your U.S. Senators.
The cybersecurity grant program is the second significant school security legislation passed this fall. In October, President Biden signed the K-12 Cybersecurity Act, which orders the Department of Homeland Security to research the impact of cyberattacks on K-12 districts and schools. It also calls on DHS to create recommendations and compile resources to help K-12 institutions improve their cybersecurity and better protect personal information and school community resources.
C4E Issue(s):
1. K-12 Cybersecurity Is a Growing Concern
Schools and school districts have seen a sharp rise in cyber attacks over the past year, particularly through the use of ransomware. Schools should aggressively pursue whatever funds are made available to upgrade hardware, install better software, and most importantly, train members of the school community on best practices for avoiding cybertraps like phishing, poor password hygiene, and social engineering.
2. We’re From the Government and We Really Are Here to Help.
The K-12 Cybersecurity Act is an important step in enhancing digital defenses for schools. However, administrators and IT personnel also should be aware that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Agency (an operational unit of DHS) already has compiled together an impressive list of cybersafety resources for schools and school districts. IT staff should take some time to go through the “School Safety and Security” materials and see what additional steps can be taken right now to make your school and your district more secure.
Robert Brodsky, “Schumer: LI school districts should get ready to apply for funding to fight off cyberattacks,” Newsday, November 22, 2021 [ last accessed on 20 November 2021 at https://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/cyberattacks-school-districts-infrastructure-bill-1.50430756 ].
Rebecca Torchia, “The K–12 Cybersecurity Act Becomes Law,” EdTech, October 22, 2021 [ last accessed on 23 November 2021 at https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2021/10/k-12-cybersecurity-act-becomes-law ].
Child Pornography Investigation Snags NY Teacher
Snapchat Cybertip Leads to Seizure of More than 50,000 Contraband Images and Videos
In the fall of 2020, Snapchat submitted a Cybertip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The alert said that an individual had uploaded images of child pornography to a group chat on the service. The Cybertip was forwarded to New York state police, who traced the upload to a 29-year-old teacher named Derek R. Hagen, who worked in several different area schools.
Investigators confiscated two computers and a cell phone from Hagen’s apartment in Mount Morris this past July [2021]. A forensic analysis allegedly uncovered a pattern of child exploitation activity on the devices with the defendant actively producing and distributing child pornography in online chats.
During the chats, Hagen and the other individuals traded child pornography and discussed specific children that they had sexually abused or wanted to sexually abuse, federal prosecutors said. To date, analysts have allegedly recovered approximately 50,000 of images and videos of child pornography on Hagen’s devices.
Police said that there was no indication that any of the images involved students at the schools in which Hagen taught.
C4E Issue(s):
1. The Infrastructure for Identifying and Tracing Child Pornography Is Increasingly Sophisticated
Obviously, no educator (or anyone else, for that matter) should produce, distribute, or possess child pornography. Moral and ethical standards should be sufficient barriers against such conduct but if not, then there is one significant practical consideration that everyone (including educators) should consider: law enforcement agencies have increasingly powerful investigative tools and the full cooperation of all major online services in their efforts to suppress images of child exploitation.
This case offers a good illustration of the basic structure of a child pornography investigation. Online service providers like Snapchat can identify uploaded contraband images through the use of sophisticated algorithms and/or visual inspections. Once an image is determined to be contraband, the online service provider files a Cybertip, which typically includes the Internet Protocol (IP) address whence the file was uploaded. Law enforcement can look up the IP address to learn which Internet service provider has control over it, and then file a subpoena with the ISP to get the name and address of the subscriber who used that IP address on the relevant date and time. Once they have that information, law enforcement can apply for a search warrant of a suspect’s premises. Such applications are routinely granted.
2. Execution of a Search Warrant in Your Home Will Ruin Your Whole Day (And More)
The warrants granted for a search for evidence of child pornography are very broad. What that means in practical terms is that law enforcement officers will be given permission to go through every corner of your house looking for electronic devices or possible storage for digital files (such as external drives or USB sticks). In some instances, agents may even bring in a dog specially trained to locate electronic media by smell. A preliminary exam will be conducted on everything they find and anything that may contain child pornography will be seized and taken to a computer forensics lab for more in-depth investigation and analysis.
The important thing to remember is that law enforcement computer analysts are not limited to searching just for the image(s) that led to the original Cybertip. They look at everything. Anything that constitutes criminal activity is fair game for prosecutors. It is not uncommon, as was the case here, for a single flagged upload to lead, eventually, to the discovery of thousands of contraband images.
3. What Can or Should Schools Do?
The arrest of a teacher on child pornography charges is deeply upsetting for any school community. It undermines the respect for the teaching profession, sullies the reputation of the schools or districts in which the teacher worked, and frightens parents of children who may have been targets for abuse. These are all things that schools obviously are eager to avoid but there is no surefire method for doing so. Schools, obviously, have no ability to control what their employees do in their spare time using their personal devices in the privacy of their home. But there are some practical steps that can minimize the risks of this particular category of misconduct:
Careful screening during the hiring process;
Ongoing and persistent professional development regarding the moral and ethical responsibilities of educators as role models in the school community; and
Using instances such as this as teachable moments to illustrate the harm to depicted individuals, the damage to the profession and the school, and the criminal consequences of engaging in this behavior.
Matt Surtel, “Former teacher allegedly had 50,000 child pornography files; investigators seek public’s help,” Livingston County News, November 24, 2021 [ last accessed on 27 November 2021 at https://www.thelcn.com/news/police/former-teacher-allegedly-had-50-000-child-pornography-files-investigators-seek-public-s-help/article_3d851380-b940-5bd4-a238-84ec82b6d99a.html ].
Abusive TikTok Videos Make a Tough Job Even More Miserable
Another Reason to Consider Restricting Smartphone Use in Schools?
Throughout November, the British Broadcasting Company has been shining a bright light on some of the ways that students are using TikTok to bully and harass teachers. Some material created by students for the social media app may cross into criminal conduct.
Gemma Morgan, assistant head teacher at Cwmtawe Community School, Pontardawe [in Wales], said a fake school TikTok account had been set up.
It contained edited videos of virtual parents' evenings and lessons, as well as covert filming of staff that had been uploaded and doctored.
“They had edited them, put hashtags over the top, they created memes… there were several hashtags with ‘paedo’,” she said.
“Some members of staff had been filmed discreetly within classrooms.”
She said there were “extremely derogatory comments” and “very bad language”.
“In all honesty, things that were of great concern and we engaged with the local police.”
A spokesperson for TikTok issued a statement assuring teachers that “hate behaviour, bullying and harassment have no place on TikTok.” She went on to add that the company was working to develop and implement tools to detect and remove “violative content and accounts.”
Educators and some government officials, however, believe that TikTok (and other social media companies) are not doing enough to address digital attacks on educators.
C4E Issue(s):
1. Support for Teachers, Education for Parents, and Lobbying for Broader Change
Policing this type of misconduct, like so many other social media-related problems, is very challenging for school districts. There are several reasons to allow students to have smartphones in school, ranging from easier parent-child communication to pedagogical uses. Many schools may feel like it is simply impractical, educationally or politically, to restrict student access to smartphones.
If that is the case, however, then schools and school districts should commit the resources necessary to support educators who are attacked, educate parents about the demonstrable harm that student misconduct can cause, and to lobby social media companies and legislators for changes that can better protect victims of social media attacks. Obviously, the teaching environment is miserable enough these days with the added burden of false global harassment as a pedophile or adulterer.
2. More Restrictions on Smartphones in Classrooms?
As these stories (and others) illustrate, there are some compelling reasons for considering in-school device restrictions. Clearly, the potential for misuse is profound. It’s one thing to use a smartphone to record educator misconduct; it’s another thing altogether to make a secret recording so that the video can be used to cyberbully or cyberharass a teacher.
Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, restrictions on student use of smart devices during the school day will not entirely solve this TikTok problem. As several educators noted, students have used recordings of virtual lessons to create their harassing content. Since there is no practical technical solution for preventing such recordings, the emphasis must be on student and parent education. If this problem continues to intensify, it is likely that there will be civil litigation against parents and possible criminal prosecution of students.
Nicola Bryan, “TikTok school abuse: Teachers quitting over paedophile slurs,” BBC.com, November 22, 2021 [ last accessed on 29 November 2021 at https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-59308918 ].
Elaine Dunkley & Hazel Shearing, “TikTok abuse ‘is pushing teachers over the edge’,” BBC.com, November 12, 2021 [ last accessed on 29 November 2021 at https://www.bbc.com/news/education-59264238 ].
Selfie-Incrimination in School Voyeurism Case
Assistant Principal Gets Suspicious about Drama Teacher’s “Actions and Demeanor”
Here’s a classic cybertraps case from last week that I didn’t have room to include in my previous issue. Ryan Pullen, a former drama teacher at Union Mine High School in El Dorado, CA, is spending 364 days in the El Dorado county jail after being caught with hidden camera videos he made of female student changing for rehearsals and performances.
[The videos] came to light in January 2021, after Assistant Principal Lindsey Kovach asked Pullen to share images of school events to be used in a video for incoming students, the El Dorado County sheriff’s office said. Pullen put a file in a Google Drive folder, then told Kovach he had accidentally shared family photos and needed to delete them.
She allowed him to remove the file but “was suspicious of his actions and demeanor,” according to the sheriff’s report, and asked the school’s technology staff to recover what he had deleted. They found the homemade video compiling 15 clips of partly clad girls recorded over several years, apparently with a hidden camera in the school’s theater dressing room.
After serving his jail sentence, Pullen will serve two years probation and will be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life (which will have a significant impact on his employability and his housing choices, among other things).
C4E Issue(s):
1. Technology Can Increase the Temptation for Misconduct.
The regrettable but unavoidable truth is that technological advances have increased the temptation of illicit conduct. Voyeurism (a form of electronic sexual assault) is a perfect example. Many people who never would have considered trying to take a surreptitious photo of someone succumb to the temptation because cameras and videorecording devices are so small these days (and getting steadily smaller). Moreover, vast libraries of similar online content provide both instruction and incentive to engage in this invasive activity.
There is no simple solution; if someone makes a conscious decision to engage in predatory behavior, then in practical terms, there is little a school or district can do to stop it. However, schools can implement a variety of preventative steps to minimize the chances that a member of the school community will engage in this type of conduct.
2. Educator Self-Care and and Regular Physical Inspections.
Schools should consider incorporating the Model Code of Ethics for Educators (MCEE) into their ongoing professional development for teachers and staff. Developed and promulgated by the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC), the MCEE contains a number of precepts that encourage educators to monitor their mental and emotional well-being and exercise self-care. A particularly relevant provision reads as follows:
A. The professional educator demonstrates responsibility to oneself as an ethical professional by:
Monitoring and maintaining sound mental, physical, and emotional health necessary to perform duties and services of any professional assignment; and taking appropriate measures when personal or health-related issues may interfere with work-related duties;
But asking educators and staff to exercise self-care, unfortunately, is not always sufficient to protect children. Schools should also develop and implement a regular (but random) schedule of physical inspections of any location where students or staff would have an expectation of privacy—locker rooms, dressing rooms, bathrooms, etc. There are a number of different devices and tools available that can identify hidden cameras (and yes, the fact that there is a need for such devices is a sad commentary on both social and technological developments).
School districts may also want to consider installing surveillance cameras outside of locations that might be tempting to a voyeur. In a couple of recent cases, surveillance footage of school hallways was used to identify individuals who hid cameras in nearby bathrooms.