Zoombombers hijack first Black, female Fed governor's speech on U.S. economy - DINT 147
Inside Job? Video conference of first Black, female Fed board member hijacked with racist images
Two days ago hackers posted racist statements, Nazi symbols, and porn images on the livestream of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook’s speech on the U.S. economy during the McKay lecture series at the University of Pittsburgh.
This is Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook.
She’s the first Black woman appointed to a 14-year term as a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. This group consists of seven of the nation’s top thinkers on economics. Here’s who they are:
Two days ago, Dr. Cook gave a speech on the nation’s economic outlook during the University of Pittsburgh’s McKay lecture series.
The event was livestreamed but according to reports, this wasn’t publicized as a virtual event. Here’s an excerpt from The Pitt News:
“The event was not advertised with a virtual component, and it is unclear why the event was being livestreamed or how the discriminatory remarks appeared on the screen.”
Disgruntled event attendees: Researchers have found legitimate attendees cause most Zoombombing attacks by sharing login data and the names of attendees that hackers can use to gain access, even if there’s a waiting room for the event. The findings were published in the IEEE Security and Privacy Journal’s March-April 2022 edition.
Debates on the cause of the hacking: racism or economic protest? According to Reuters, hackers gained access to the livestream and posted nazi images, racist messages and porn on the screen during Dr. Cook’s remarks. The attack started just minutes after Dr. Cook began to speak. Reuters took pains to point out another Zoombombing incident suffered by fellow Fed Governor Christopher Waller in March 2023.
Other news outlets link the cause of the hacking to Dr. Cook’s race and gender.
From CyberNews: “US Federal Reserve Governor Dr. Lisa Cook, the first African American woman to serve on the Board, was the target of racist hackers on Thursday after the livestream lecture she was giving at the University of Pittsburgh was "Zoom bombed" by unknown assailants.”
From The Pitt News: “A lecture from Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook was disrupted on Thursday afternoon after a racial slur and vulgar drawings appeared on the screen during her presentation, according to multiple people who attended the event.”
Key differences: Governor Waller’s virtual-only event was interrupted by displays of porn images. While Governor Cook’s in-person and virtual speech was interrupted by racist images and symbols in addition to porn.
Governor Cook continued her in-person remarks and the event organizers shut down the livestream of her speech. Organizers also canceled the Q&A session scheduled to immediately follow Governor Cook’s remarks.
AI innovations: Governor Cook shared that AI will become a technology similar to the printing press or the computer, something for general purpose that increases productivity and replaces elements of a person’s job but not the entire job altogether.
Note: For further reading, check out this profile of Governor Cook from the International Monetary Fund.
More News at the Intersection of Tech, Race, and Gender
Palate Cleanser
I hate that people would do this to her virtual event. One would need to investigate if there is a way to moderate these types of messages from being seen or stopped by a group of people monitoring for anything obscene or violent.
Thank you for the update