Cyber Safety Expert Brings Threat Prevention Training to West40
A trained eye can often spot warning signs left online by those seeking to commit crimes or harm others at schools and other locations. But would you know what these clues can look like?
Retired Naperville Police Detective Rich Wistocki utilizes investigative techniques that have helped police and schools prevent numerous crimes, including potential school shootings, by identifying online warning signs called “leakage.”
Leakage can include anything from online posts to messages to other digital activities. Wistocki now tours the country and trains law enforcement officers and school administrators to interpret information left behind in “leakage”.
West40 recently hosted Wistocki for this three-day training called “Identifying and Intercepting School Swatters/Shooters Through Leakage." He explained three big takeaways he hopes attendees receive from his training.
“Number one, train students how to report the five pieces of evidence. Number two, train school administration how important it is to report any threats to their SRO or local law enforcement. And number three, show law enforcement not to blow off these threats and red flags with leakage,” Wistocki said.
The training at West40 included learning how to use free and open source on-line investigative tools, collection and preservation of cyber evidence, State laws surrounding threats and swatting, and how to get students the mental health resources they need before they move to action.
“The training is very important when it comes to pro-active early identification of warning signs of violence and intercepting potential school shooters before they move to action,” said Wil Gage, West40’s Director of School Safety and Threat Assessment.
Wistocki added that it is very important not to discount what students are saying.
“Take every report seriously and follow the threat assessment protocol,” Wistocki said.
Wistocki encourages students to report concerning online behavior, even when they are unsure if a threat is serious. He also urges schools to follow established threat-assessment procedures and communicate concerns with their law enforcement partners. Additionally, Wistocki says parents should talk often with their children about responsible digital use and pay attention to who they are interacting with online and how they do it.
