How to Address Hate Crimes and Targeted Violence Through Open Source Investigations

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM PST

Location: Room: 6C

Submitter and Speaker(s)

Scott Pestridge

Senior Program Manager
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Speaker(s)

David Lewis

Senior Policy Advisor
U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Steven Debrota

Vice President
National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C)
Fairmont, West Virginia, United States
Rick Eaton

Director of Research
Simon Wiesenthal Center
Los Angeles, California, United States

This session will provide an overview of online hate crimes and targeted violence landscape. The session will cover the rapidly evolving ecosystem of online social media and how people are changing the way they communicate. Panelists will demonstrate free and inexpensive cyber-OSINT tools that criminal investigators and analysts can use to build a cyber-open-source intelligence (OSINT) toolbox. Technical capabilities of collecting open-source information, to include what covers the requisite legal requirements for agents of government to observe and collect online open-source information will be discussed. Participants will gain an understanding of online hate speech and online hate crimes, identifying indicators and emerging trends in hate crimes, particularly with vulnerable populations.