Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid. What is it really like to negotiate with ransomware attackers? Why negotiate? What's the most moment in a ransomware negotiation?

Mark Lance is vice president of GuidePoint Security, who talks about the many aspects involved in negotiating after a ransomware attack.

Searches of innocent passengers at airport boarding gates continue nationwide as federal drug officers look for cash they can seize.

Atlanta News First Investigates documented the practice in the series In Plane Sight, showing how plainclothes officers confront passengers who’ve already successfully cleared inspections by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

In court records, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and federal prosecutors describe these stops as “cold consent encounters.” Multiple videos recorded by passengers show their consent was compelled by agents who told them they would otherwise miss their flights, or face a drug dog screening and a long wait for a search warrant.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/08/14/new-video-shows-its-nearly-impossible-say-no-dea-searches-airport-gates/

Anytime Chekietha Grant sees a police cruiser, she immediately starts recording on her phone. It’s an impulse reaction after a 2022 encounter with law enforcement in Brookside, Alabama, that started with an alleged broken tag light, and ended with her in handcuffs and behind bars.

“Every time I go anywhere, I’m nervous,” Grant said. “If police get behind me, I instantly have to record.”

Police arrested her daughter, Alexis Thomas, too. The traffic stop cost them thousands of dollars in fees from municipal court, the tow truck company, and attorney fees.

Their experience mirrors hundreds of similar complaints from ticketed drivers in the small Alabama town, according to a class action lawsuit filed by the Institute of Justice, alleging the city deployed its police department not to protect the public, but to generate revenue.

According to the lawsuit, the city boosted its budget 640 percent through fines and forfeitures in two years. During that time, it purchased an armored vehicle residents called “The Tank,” and named the department’s K-9, “Cash.”

Ford Motor Company’s recall of the 2016-2022 Ford EcoSport and Focus 1.0L engines has put owners in a difficult position. Their cars have defective parts that could potentially ruin the engine, but the replacement parts will not be available for at least six months.

According to the recall, “the oil-drive belt tensioner arm may fracture or separate, causing a loss of vehicle power and power braking assist, increasing the risk of a crash.”

Several plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit in June 2023 alleging “the defect presents a serious safety hazard because it can cause catastrophic engine failure without warning while driving, lost motive power, and/or sudden limp mode activation, increasing the likelihood of a collision.

Driving behind a dump truck feels like a game of roulette. Rocks could fall out, damaging your windshield or causing a crash.

You’ve probably noticed those stickers warning you to stay back and that the trucks aren’t responsible for broken windshields. But did you notice something missing?

How about license plates?

In Georgia and most other states, dump trucks aren’t required to have license plates or any other identifying marks on the back of the vehicle.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/08/01/dump-trucks-without-rear-license-plates-theyre-legal/

A group of alleged squatters identified by viewers of a recent Atlanta News First investigation as members of a polygamist group have been evicted from the DeKalb County house in which they were residing.

Viewers claimed at least two of the squatters are associated with a polygamist group known as Carbon Nation, which DeKalb County prosecutors refer to as a sex cult. Its leader, Eligio Bishop, went on trial in February 2024 for false imprisonment, rape and posting a revenge porn video online. After a jury found Bishop guilty, he was sentenced to life in prison.

After the sentencing, a group of squatters began occupying a Tucker, Georgia, home. The house is a rental property owned and managed by Sylvan Homes. Sources told Atlanta News First Investigates the squatters changed the locks and used a fraudulent lease to turn on water service.

Read the full stories here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/07/16/squatters-linked-polygamist-sex-group-carbon-nation-evicted-tucker-home/

and here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/07/10/metro-couple-says-new-neighbors-donning-ski-masks-may-be-squatters/

Steve Christian was 77, a veteran who, according to a letter he left behind, was suffering from cognitive memory loss. His letter said the diagnosis made him want to take his own life.

On a rain-soaked March 3, 2023, Christian shot himself in the parking lot of Brookhaven, Georgia’s Blackburn Park. While waiting on an ambulance, Christian expressed his sorrow to police officers and seemingly expressed a desire to live, according to body camera footage obtained by Atlanta News First Investigates. Crews detailed Christian asking for help, recalling the veteran said he “messed up.”

Police officers expressed their frustration and dismay over the ambulance’s delay. One officer said, “It’s going to be a gunshot wound to the lungs, second chest wound. Let’s go ahead and get an ETA. They’re going to need to step this up.” Another officer said, “This is unbelievable, man. I can’t believe this.”

After 22 minutes, a DeKalb Fire Department unit arrived, but the fire truck isn’t capable of emergency transport. Twenty-five minutes after the first officer responded, an American Medical Response ambulance finally arrived.

But Steve Christian was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/07/15/it-took-26-minutes-metro-atlanta-ambulance-show-up-why/

Someone claiming to be the son of a recently deceased man allegedly filed false probate paperwork that gave him access to everything the beloved uncle to an Atlanta family left behind.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/07/25/metro-family-loses-inheritance-family-home-even-their-late-uncles-ashes/