It takes no joy in announcing the early morning arrest of a 16-year-old student,
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From Miami Dade County Public Schools,
who has been charged with cyber attacks against Miami Dade County Public Schools.
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Obviously it takes no joy because he is one of us.
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And according to the preliminary investigation conducted by
Miami Dade County Public Schools,
assisted by the Florida Department of law enforcement.
And they are here with us today, US Secret Service and FBI.
This individual is responsible at least for eight of the attacks
sustained by Miami Dade County Public Schools, against our data center.
Interfering with internet connectivity, and access through our school system.
A number of resources have been confiscated from this individual,
and they are being forensically analyzed by our
law enforcement agency as well as others.
This does not rule out other protagonists, as Federal and
local law enforcement sources have informed us.
That in addition to these local attacks,
originating from the South Florida community,
most specifically the one perpetrated by this 16 year old student.
There are other attacks from foreign nations,
such as Russia, Ukraine,
China, Iraq and possibly others.
That does not mean however that individuals in those nations,
are necessary launching the cyber attacks.
I have been told and chief Lopez will be speaking in a little bit.
That through the dark web, there are means by which one can access,
can purchase these types of services which are highly disruptive.
>> Obviously the parents are distraught, when an incident like this happens.
And you bring up a topic about parenting, it's important for
me to highlight the importance of parents during this time.
Now more than ever, during an era where more young adults are glued
to their smart devices, glued to computers, glued to the internet.
Now when we are urging students to spend multiple hours a day not only for
school related matters online.
That in combination with all the personal activity that the youngsters do
on social media and other avenues, it is vital for parents to monitor the activity.
I remember two and a half years ago standing shoulder to shoulder with
the superintendent, urging parents to monitor the activity of their children,
and the utilization of social media applications.
And here we are again, talking about parental
oversight over internet based activities.
We have 16 year old, operating a complex system with
the capability to dismantle the learning process for
hundreds of thousands of students.
And we have a parent, that has no idea what their teenager is doing.
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That message needs to be strong, to the working parents.
That message needs to be urgent, and the message needs to be said now.
Monitor the activities of responsible individuals
in your household, that you account for.
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