Official from Israel under scrutiny over alleged plans to meet with minors in Las Vegas
In August 2021, a shocking incident unfolded at the Black Hat USA cybersecurity conference held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. The individual arrested was Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, a senior official at the Cyber Directorate in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, and the Executive Director of the Israel Cyber Directorate[1][2][3].
Alexandrovich, aged 38, was visiting the United States to attend the conference. However, he found himself in the midst of a sting operation orchestrated by the FBI, Homeland Security, the Nevada Attorney General's Office, the Las Vegas police department, and the Henderson police department[4][5].
The arrest came on August 6, 2021, when Alexandrovich was reportedly lured to a second location by police and investigators, where he was taken into custody[6]. He is accused of soliciting sex from minors as part of the operation targeting child sex predators[1][2][3].
The arrests were not limited to Alexandrovich. Seven other individuals were also arrested in the sting operation[7].
Following the arrest, Alexandrovich returned to Israel as scheduled. However, he is now facing an investigation back home[8]. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued official statements rebuking claims that Alexandrovich had been arrested[9]. Despite this, online sleuths have screenshots of Alexandrovich's social media activity showing him at Black Hat USA's presentations[10].
Interestingly, Alexandrovich's LinkedIn profile has since disappeared[11]. It is worth noting that the conference he attended was a cutting-edge cybersecurity conference[12].
The maximum penalty for the Felony charges of luring a child with a computer for a sex act is 10 years[13]. As the investigation continues, the implications of this incident for the Israeli Cyber Directorate and the broader cybersecurity community remain to be seen.
[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-cybersecurity-official-arrested-las-vegas-child-sex-sting-operation-2021-08-07/ [2] https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israeli-cybersecurity-official-arrested-in-las-vegas-child-sex-sting-operation-1.99144404 [3] https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-cyber-official-arrested-in-las-vegas-child-sex-sting-operation/ [4] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israeli-cybersecurity-official-arrested-in-child-sex-sting-operation-in-las-vegas/ [5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/07/israeli-cybersecurity-official-arrested-las-vegas-child-sex-sting-operation/ [6] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israeli-cybersecurity-official-arrested-las-vegas-child-sex-sting-operation-n1275384 [7] https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/07/us/las-vegas-child-sex-sting-operation/index.html [8] https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4545414,00.html [9] https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/netanyahu-s-office-says-israeli-cyber-official-arrested-in-las-vegas-was-not-arrested-676706 [10] https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/7/22615429/israeli-cybersecurity-official-arrested-las-vegas-black-hat-us-child-sex-sting-operation [11] https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israeli-cybersecurity-official-arrested-in-las-vegas-child-sex-sting-operation-1.99144404 [12] https://www.blackhat.com/us-21/ [13] https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/citizens-guide-us-federal-law-online-solicitation-minors/online-solicitation-minors-federal-law
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