Child Pornography Interrupts Northwestern Symposium: Report

EVANSTON, IL — A Northwestern University online symposium was twice interrupted by child pornography Friday, according to organizers. The university has opened a criminal investigation into the incident, a spokesperson confirmed.

The event was hosted by the Northwestern Women's Center on the Zoom platform with about 60 people in the audience, program manager Sarah Brown told the Daily Northwestern. Directors from women's and LGBTQ centers around the world were in attendance for the annual symposium, which showcases the academic work of women and gender-diverse people.

But someone hijacked the event by using the platform's "share screen" function and began broadcasting explicit images depicting the sexual abuse of children, Brown told the school newspaper. The hosts closed the meeting and sent out another link — but someone was able to again broadcast graphic videos, according to the report.

Women's Center Director Sekile Nzinga declined to comment about what occurred during the May 15 incident, citing a desire to avoid running the risk of re-living it.

"We are instead trying to focus on our collective wellbeing and are hopeful that the university identifies who is responsible so that no further harm can be done," Nzinga said in an email.

The incident in under investigation by the private university's police force, which has not reported making any arrests in connection with it. The university has collaborated with unspecified local and federal law enforcement agencies with the investigation, according to a university spokesperson.

"While rare, these incidents have been impactful for those disrupted, and in some cases, the attacks were appalling," the spokesperson said in a statement. "The safety of our community remains our highest priority. Acts like this are not and will not be tolerated, and Northwestern University Police is actively investigating all reported incidents."

The university updated its information technology anti-Zoom-bombing guidance Monday and has improved its processes for preventing, reporting and responding to future attacks.

"Northwestern is doing everything in the University's power to both prevent the opportunities for future acts of this nature and protect our community to every degree possible," a spokesperson told Patch in an email.

Northwestern's Office of Equity is working to offer support to those affected by such incidents and can connect community members with on-campus and off-campus resources, according to the spokesperson.

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The FBI has issued a warning about video-teleconference hijacking and encourages victims to file complaints with its Internet Crime Complaint Center.

There have been more than 260,000 Northwestern University sessions held on the Zoom platform since the university shifted to mostly remote operations in March, according to the spokesperson. While no one has reported the disruption of any classes or private meetings, "a few members of our community recently have reported 'Zoombombing' disruptions during public-facing events."

The spokesperson was unaware how many other reports of criminal conduct involving the platform had been made to the university in recent months, describing them as "rare." Northwestern uses other video conferencing tools for its remote classes, events and meetings, he said, but Zoom is now the main one.

Lauren Herold, an advisory board member at the Women's Center, told the Daily the university should offer a safer and more secure alternative to Zoom. She said marginalized people were being targeted on the platform, making her "freaked out" about continuing to use it for advocacy-based public events.