Hacker displays child porn in Zoom meeting

FBI investigating incident in Hispanic American Institute online session

A national nonprofit with an office in Albuquerque was the victim of a Zoom attack earlier this month when an unknown user entered the online meeting hosted by the organization and displayed child sexual abuse material.

Such attacks, referred to as “Zoom bombings,” have been on the rise during the COVID-19 crisis as millions of users flock to the service as an alternative to meeting with people in person.

Though some Zoom bombings have been pranks, instances like the one experienced in Albuquerque are criminal and authorities don’t take them lightly.

The FBI has received more than 280 reports from across the country of child sexual abuse material being displayed during Zoom conference calls as of Wednesday, said Frank Fisher, the agency’s Albuquerque Division spokesman.

Hispanic American Institute President Bruce Young Candelaria said he was on the May 7 Zoom conference with 32 people when an unknown user displayed a video of child sexual abuse. The person moderating the virtual meeting took down the video as quickly as possible, but Candelaria said the experience has left a mark on those who viewed it.

“It also, of course, disrupted our call and just caused a number of

people, all of us, to recoil from this inhumane and criminal activity that we witnessed, too,” Candelaria said.

Each time a video or photograph depicting child sexual abuse material is shared or viewed, it

is considered a separate crime and revictimization of that child, according to the FBI.

The Hispanic American Institute promotes social, educational

and economic development in Hispanic communities across the country, in Puerto Rico and inother parts of Latin America. The May 7 meeting was held to help small-business owners address issues they are having during the COVID-19 pandemic, Candelaria said.

Fisher said the agency knew there would be a rise in internet crimes with the emergence of the novel coronavirus.

“Unfortunately, yes, we were expecting stuff like this,” he said.

Anyone caught sharing these materials in a Zoom meeting could be charged with distribution of child pornography, Fisher said. According to federal law, a first offense is punishable by five to 20 years in prison, while multiple offenses can carry sentences of 15 to 40 years.

Zoom bombings can take different forms. While the one that occurred during the Hispanic American Institute meeting included child sexual abuse material, there have also been reports from across the country of users flooding meetings with racist images and messages or pornography.

Immediately after the incident, Candelaria said, he instructed a staff member to terminate the organization’s Zoom account and look for alternatives, but they found none were as easy to use.

The meeting platform is extremely popular and its use has risen significantly in recent months. According to an April 22 blog post by the company, it has “300 million daily Zoom meeting participants.”

Anyone who is exposed to child sexual abuse material during a Zoom meeting should fill out an FBI questionnaire to give the agency information about the incident, Fisher said.

“Our staff and our participants in our call feel violated, but we’re not going to take this lying down,” Candelaria said. “We are cooperating as fully as we can, with the law enforcement authorities, to make sure that this person, or persons, are brought to justice.”