logo
University of Michigan dumping undercover security guards for 'unethical' behavior

University of Michigan dumping undercover security guards for 'unethical' behavior

Yahooa day ago

The University of Michigan is terminating all contracts with outside firms to provide plainclothes security officers on campus.
Interim President Domenico Grasso announced the decision in a note to the campus community Sunday, just days after media reports of Gaza War protesters being tailed.
The London-based Guardian reported last week that in at least one case caught on video, a plainclothes security officer appeared to fake a disability by pretend he was hearing-impaired when he was confronted by a protester.
"We recently learned that an employee of one of our security contractors has acted in ways that go against our values and directives," Grasso wrote. "What happened was disturbing, unacceptable, and unethical, and we will not tolerate it. Going forward, we are terminating all contracts with external vendors to provide plainclothes security on campus."
The school didn't say what action the security contract took that was unacceptable, but said that an employee was no longer with the company. It also didn't say if the company would still provide uniformed security officers on campus.
In a separate statement, U-M defended the use of such contractors to supplement its own officers, calling it "an industry-standard approach used widely across college campuses, sporting venues and medical facilities."
The school said the security guards were hired to "keep watch over our campus and enable us to respond quickly to emergencies." The statement said that the school "does not surveil individuals or student groups, nor has it requested or authorized the surveillance of any students on or off campus."
Several protesters disagreed, telling the Guardian that they were being followed.
In his note, Grasso urged anyone who's witnessed inappropriate behavior by private security personnel to report it to the campus police or the Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX Office. He said it would be promptly investigated.
The Free Press left a message with the university seeking comment on any complaints it has received about private security personnel.
The Free Press also left a request for comment with Amerishield, the parent company of Detroit-based City Shield, which provided the officers.
Payment records from the Board of Regents show that between June and September of last year alone, the university paid Amerishield more than $851,000 for what it called "general goods and services."
The U-M campus has seen repeated controversies over the Gaza War protests and the school's response to them.
In May of 2024, the school broke up an encampment on the diag and several protesters were charged with crimes ranging from trespassing to resisting and obstructing police.
Last month, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that she was dropping all charges against some of those protesters.
The school's handling of the protesters has prompted multiple lawsuits, claiming the school violated the constitutional rights of protesters and fired some employees who took part.
Detroit Free Press staff writer Andrea Souhari contributed to this report. Contact John Wisely: jwisely@freepress.com. On X: @jwisely
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: U-M dumping undercover security guards for 'unethical' behavior

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Five common mistakes that let criminals hack your online accounts
Five common mistakes that let criminals hack your online accounts

Yahoo

time9 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Five common mistakes that let criminals hack your online accounts

Attacks on British retailers like Marks & Spencer have highlighted how mistakes can let cybercriminals into online accounts with devastating consequences. M&S announced on Tuesday it had finally reopened its website weeks after a cyberattack in April that the company blamed on 'human error' and it said it would cost around £300m. The government's cybersecurity breaches survey, published earlier this year, found 43% of businesses had suffered a security breach in the last 12 months. But even for ordinary people, it's still very possible to make mistakes that can lead to criminals gaining access to your account - and then using your details for identity theft or stealing money. Research by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance found that 10% of Brits had lost money to scams or identity theft in 2023. Yahoo News spoke to security expert Truman Kain, a security researcher at cybersecurity firm Huntress, about the common mistakes people make - including one which almost all of us have never even thought about. In security questions on online accounts such as banking, people often put their real mother's maiden name or the name of a first pet. But this is a mistake, Kain explains - and instead you should make up a fake name, because hackers can potentially use a security question to reset accounts and gain access, and such information is often easy to find out. Kain said: 'Security questions are a relic. When used as originally intended, they aren't security, they're trivia that hackers already know. "Think of it this way: if you had to, could you answer your friend's security questions? Yes? Well, so could a hacker. Attackers can typically guess or find your answers to common security questions on your social media or elsewhere online. 'This is how accounts can get taken over even if you do have a strong password. So, treat security questions like passwords… lie! Generate and save fake answers to security questions with a password manager. Never assume that your real answers to security questions are private.' Browsers such as Chrome commonly offer the option to save passwords, which can be highly convenient for users - but using this is a mistake. So are other common ways of storing passwords like notes apps, Word documents or spreadsheets, says Kain. 'Lots of people store passwords in places they shouldn't: these are a problem, because they can all be quickly scraped by malware or someone with access to your device," Kain says. For example, if your PC gets a virus, it can be easy for criminals to find passwords stored in this way. Instead, Kain advises, you should use a separate password manager app on your PC or smartphone, and generate strong passwords using the app. Kain said: 'If you care about your accounts, use a dedicated password manager. It's the simplest way to keep your accounts secure. Storing passwords anywhere else is like locking your front door and then leaving the key under the doormat. Reusing passwords offers an easy way to log in, for example, when forced to create a password to order on a pub's menu. But if you use one password across a lot of accounts, it's only a matter of time before it leaks online, says Kain, due to the frequency of data breaches. Kain said: 'By reusing passwords, you're basically playing Russian roulette. A breach at some random site, at any point in the future, can hand attackers the keys to your most important accounts. 'They'll turn right around and plug those credentials into every major service they can think of… and if you reused, they're in.' Kain said: 'Today's phishing attacks aren't poorly worded emails. They're polished, look just like the real thing and sometimes even come from real providers like DocuSign or Canva.' To deal with such attacks, it's best to be ultra-cautious around links in emails, particularly when they relate to banking or anything similar. Instead of following the email, use your banking app or navigate to your bank's website - or if you're really worried, call. Kain said: "Today, fake login pages are pixel-perfect and often use legitimate-looking domains. All it takes is one moment of distraction or misplaced trust, and your credentials or sensitive information are compromised. 'Attackers love evoking senses of fear or urgency because those emotions often cause you to act without thinking. So, always take a minute to stop and think: is this legit? Just because a site looks real doesn't mean it is. Check the URL before entering credentials and navigate to sites directly instead of clicking links in emails or text messages.' Multi-factor authentication (MFA) bolsters passwords by insisting on a second check (often via text or through a dedicated app) to prove people are who they say they are. This means that if a criminal finds your password in an online data breach, they still cannot access your account. Kain said: 'MFA is one of the most effective defences you have against account takeovers. However, it's often ignored because 'it's annoying', or put off with 'I'll do it later'. 'The reality is that passwords get breached. Phishing works. MFA adds a backstop that makes it much harder for attackers to get in when they inevitably get a hold of your credentials. App-based MFA is ideal, but any form of MFA is better than none.'

Trump team talks of fighting fires and cleaning forest floors
Trump team talks of fighting fires and cleaning forest floors

E&E News

time23 minutes ago

  • E&E News

Trump team talks of fighting fires and cleaning forest floors

Trump administration officials on Tuesday warned of an ominous-looking fire season ahead as they repeated the case for unifying federal wildland firefighting agencies and thinning overgrown forests. Convening with the president in the White House Oval Office, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins alternated lavishing praise on President Donald Trump with a fire-fighting call to arms and an insistence that their respective departments will be ready. 'This is going to be an above-normal fire season,' Rollins said, standing near Trump, who was sitting behind the oak Resolute Desk. 'This means that there is a higher likelihood of large and intense wildfires than is typically expected for this time of year for the next few months.' Advertisement There were 64,897 wildfires reported in 2024, compared to 56,580 reported in 2023, according to the Boise, Idaho-based National Interagency Fire Center. The wildfires consumed 8.9 million acres in 2024 compared to 2.6 million acres in 2023.

TNB Tech Minute: Huawei Founder Downplays Impact of U.S. Export Controls - Tech News Briefing
TNB Tech Minute: Huawei Founder Downplays Impact of U.S. Export Controls - Tech News Briefing

Wall Street Journal

time41 minutes ago

  • Wall Street Journal

TNB Tech Minute: Huawei Founder Downplays Impact of U.S. Export Controls - Tech News Briefing

Full Transcript This transcript was prepared by a transcription service. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated. Victoria Craig: Here's your TNB Tech Minute for Tuesday, June 10th. I'm Victoria Craig for the Wall Street Journal. The founder of Chinese Telecom equipment maker Huawei, has dismissed worries that the company will be squeezed by U.S. export controls. In an interview with the People's Daily, a government mouthpiece, Huawei's founder said The firm is finding workarounds to improve its chip performance, which are still one generation behind those made by its U.S. peers. He was also upbeat on China's AI industry saying that the country's electric grid capacity is a solid foundation for AI development. You can hear more about how U.S. companies are fighting potential roadblocks to competitiveness with China on data center power in tomorrow's Tech News Briefing podcast right here in this feed. Elsewhere, Uber and self-driving car startup Wayve Technologies are launching trials of fully autonomous vehicles on public roads in London. They chose the British capital because its road layouts and traffic laws are significantly different from U.S. locations where testing has so far been done. There's no targeted date for trials to begin. The U.K.'s Transportation Secretary said the government is fast-tracking pilots of self-driving cars to next spring. Uber and Wayve said the London tests will make it easier to deploy autonomous vehicles across European markets. And finally, the Journal exclusively reports several U.S. government agencies tracked foreign nationals coming and going to Elon Musk's properties in 2022 and 2023 according to people familiar with the matter. An investigation by Homeland Security and the Justice Department focused on people visiting the tech billionaire from Eastern European nations and others who might've been trying to influence him. Until last week, Musk was one of President Trump's closest advisors. The current status of the investigation couldn't be determined. As chief executive of SpaceX, which has worked with national security agencies for years, Musk has top secret security clearance, which gives him access to some national security secrets. For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech, check out Wednesday's Tech News Briefing podcast.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store