Following revelations that a bomb threat, which disrupted operations at a Corporate Area preparatory school and a State agency on Thursday, emanated when hackers on Discord, a popular communication platform, gained access to an e-mail account, cybersecurity expert Trevor Forrest is urging parents to increase monitoring of their children’s social media use.

Forrest — founder and CEO of 876 Technology Solutions, a provider of data and information security solutions and consulting services — said the platform, which is popular with children and hackers alike, is preferred by individuals with dark intentions because of the level of anonymity it offers.

“Discord is a messaging platform just like WhatsApp but it’s very popular with kids, hackers, and hacker groups and research groups. It’s an environment, an ecosystem that a lot of different types of people use, primarily because of the anonymity and encryption that it provides and I suspect most kids use it because their parents are not on it. If you don’t know how to navigate Discord you get lost,” Forrest told the Jamaica Observer.

The tech expert further warned that ignorance about all that comes with the space magnifies the dangers posed.

“The thing about Discord is that, because of the assorted cast of characters that use Discord — paedophiles and so in that space — if you don’t use it right, or are unaware of the threat in that space, then many things can happen,” Forrest told the Observer.

However, he said that while the platform is preferred by individuals hoping to avoid detection after creating mischief, it is not exactly foolproof.

“The same thing could happen with WhatsApp, but the thing about WhatsApp is it’s easier to track the source. So it is possible, because of the level of anonymity, some people may think they can use Discord… hackers can actually take over accounts [as has been done with WhatsApp, but takeovers happen more often with Discord,” he said, noting that a
Discord account holder does not necessarily have to be the one sending a threat.

Forrest, in the meantime, pointed out that hackers in foreign countries have used the platform to interfere with school operations as well.

“The best things parents can do is monitor their child’s use of Discord; the best you can do is be on Discord yourself and follow your kids and their activity. Outside of that, you can prevent, but good luck with that. It is just one more thing a parent would have to deal with… things like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Discord are popular,” he stated.

Forrest said rather than a complete blackout parents and guardians can fight back by increasing their vigilance.

“I would promote monitoring use as opposed to trying to ban them from use because if you do that, they are going to find something else and what you don’t want is for them to use something you can’t monitor,” he said, adding that for law enforcers “it is easier to monitor the popular thing as against the obscure platforms”.

On Thursday, operations at St Andrew Preparatory School on Cecelio Avenue in the Corporate Area were halted prematurely and classes dismissed following the discovery of the threat which was sent via an e-mail linked to the school. Operations at the neighbouring Statistical Institute of Jamaica were also impacted as police and Jamaica Fire Brigade personnel carried out sweeps of the properties. The roads leading to the entities were also temporarily blocked.

The Observer learnt that the scare also affected the neighbouring St Andrew High School for Girls where examinations were underway.

Superintendent Mark Harris, commanding officer for the St Andrew Central Division, when contacted said a team which had been deployed to the area was compiling an incident report.

Speaking with the Observer later Thursday evening operations officer for the St Andrew Central Police Division, Deputy Superintendent Oral Foster said sweeps of the compounds revealed no explosives but investigations were ongoing regarding the threat e-mail.

“I don’t want to speak too much on it but an investigation is going on. Preliminary information is that the e-mail that was sent… let’s just say an e-mail was sent and they are trying to trace it back to the source,” Foster said.

Earlier this month, the Latin Times reported that Brazilian cops were continuing a sweeping anti-terrorism investigation after foiling a bomb plot targeting entertainer Lady Gaga’s massive concert on Copacabana Beach, which drew an estimated 2.1 million people on Saturday, May 3. According to the media report, investigators said the group was operating on Discord. According to the police, the network had been recruiting minors to participate in a violent “challenge” during the Lady Gaga show, encouraging them to bring homemade Molotov cocktails and plant backpacks rigged with explosives.

Last month, police in Sacramento County, California, arrested a 27-year-old man who they said kidnapped a 10-year-old girl he met through Discord and Roblox, an online video game popular with children.