The fight against online child sexual exploitation is evolving rapidly. Derek Benner, CEO of Our Rescue, sat down with Mike Prado, leader of the DHS Cyber Crimes Center (C3), to discuss technology, law enforcement, and prevention strategies.
Derek Benner: Mike, you’re in your role, you’re not only looking ahead down the road, two to three years, but you’re also leading the day-to-day fight.
Mike Prado: We are the preeminent center of excellence globally in the fight against online child sexual exploitation and abuse here at the DHS Cyber Crimes Center. What we do in collaboration with our partners is invaluable.
That was the start way back in 2014. Time has flown.
Mike Prado: I remember that distinctly. Probably the best thing to happen career-wise because I got to work with you, which I felt was a huge benefit for me personally and professionally.
C3 was originally created because of our work at the US Customs Service when the internet really came online. There was a tremendous exponential growth in online child exploitation. We needed to come up with a solution to address the proliferation of child exploitation. We’ve really expanded the mission as a whole. We’ve added and boosted our computer forensics capability, which is so crucial to this fight, as well as our Cyber Crimes unit. Everything that’s needed to keep up with the fight not only against child exploitation but all illicit activity that now takes place online.
Derek Benner: C3 has evolved and really tried to stay ahead of the technology curve. That’s pretty impressive in my mind.
Mike Prado: What we have seen over the number of years is a change when it comes to forensics as it relates to the type of devices. We’re seizing less and less actual computer towers, traditional plastered hard drives, and now moving into mobile forensics and smartphones in particular, tablets, certainly laptops, [and] by far phones.
The prevalence of phones and the ability to store more and more data on phones or in a cloud environment has changed the way that we train our forensic examiners, the way that we acquire licenses, and the way that we equip our field personnel so that they’re best situated to address that.
Derek Benner: So, it’s possible that violators, that predators, could have multiple devices?
Mike Prado: Multiple phones, multiple storage devices.
Derek Benner: Not only prevalent, but typical?
Mike Prado: Typical. Absolutely.
Derek Benner: What are the chances of being able to destroy evidence by destroying my phone?
Mike Prado: People try every novel way that you can think. I won’t give out any secrets, but I can say we have some of the best forensic examiners in the country working here and around the field offices at HSI on how to recover that data. Even when somebody thinks they’ve taken every measure possible to destroy evidence, we’ve recovered data in a number of instances and ways that have led to some very severe and strong convictions.
Q: How does C3 anticipate future threats?
Mike Prado: A lot of that has been tied to the evolution of technology, the increased sophistication of technology and thereby the increased sophistication of our criminal adversaries. So what we’ve done at the Cyber Crimes Center is really not just try to keep pace with that. That’s difficult enough, but I think where we’ve really excelled is to look ahead three, five, ten years out. What are the technologies on the horizon?
Derek Benner: Technology evolves. Criminal and predators evolve and leverage other tactics.
The program we developed [at Our Rescue], ICAC Connect, was not only to help ICACs (Internet Crimes Against Children) and resource them appropriately, but to elevate the men and women that work there as heroes of the community.
Mike Prado: I commend what you and Our Rescue are doing in helping resource ICACs and local police agencies because this is a difficult and complex crime to investigate. It can be an expensive crime to investigate. It’s not something anybody can do, and you need certain tools and resources to accomplish that mission. So that’s hugely important.
Derek Benner: Everything that the ICACs utilize, everything you guys utilize, it’s like it’s almost like a loaf of bread. After a while, it gets stale and grows moldy and it’s not useful anymore.
Mike Prado: That’s a great analogy. These cases are make-or-break when it comes to forensics. Without the forensics aspect of an investigation, many investigations aren’t going any further and aren’t reaching an indictment or a conviction. Our ultimate goal here is to hold perpetrators accountable. We need that evidence, and the only way to acquire that evidence in a constitutional manner that allows us to present it to court is forensically, with the latest tools and investigative techniques.
Q: How would it change things if every ICAC had C3’s resources?
Derek Benner: What if every ICAC—there are 61 across the country—looked like C3, with just as much horsepower, funding, staffing, and attention?
Mike Prado: I think it’d be huge. A game-changer. Structured the way we’ve come up with at the Cyber Crimes Center, flattening silos, integrating forensic capability with cyber-crime investigations, child exploitation, victim identification—all working together, sharing information. Then being able to rapidly take a lead, package it in a targeted manner, and get it out to a field office. You’d arrest a heck of a lot more people, which is a good thing.
You’re going to need more prosecutors, more education for local DA offices and U.S. attorney offices, but you’d see a reduction in victimization.
Derek Benner: There’s no quick fix. These investigations are wildly complicated and take time. Predators and criminals don’t respect lines on a map. Cyber cases, including online child sexual exploitation, are transnational. Even if a victim is here in Virginia, the image may have already circulated globally in milliseconds or reside on a server outside the U.S.
Q: How can nonprofits help?
Derek Benner: Our Rescue works internationally to help build capacity. We’re focused on empowering ICACs through the ICAC Connect program, giving them software, hardware, training, and overtime to reduce backlogs.
Mike Prado: Technological solutions can reduce that backlog and instances of exploitation. Bad actors leave digital footprints. Generative AI is another hurdle. We’re learning as we go to counter these tools.
Q: How severe is the AI threat?
Mike Prado: Generative AI has crested rapidly. It allows predators to create violent, sexually exploitative images of children who may not have been abused in real life. Trauma can occur without the child ever knowing, until they or someone else discovers the images. It’s a whole new challenge.
Derek Benner: Prevention is critical. Damage is done by the time law enforcement intervenes. Extortion is increasingly common, and criminal organizations have strategies and plans. We must act fast to educate children, parents, and communities.
Mike Prado: Extortion is sometimes a matter of life and death. Tragically, we’ve seen cases where children have taken their own lives under pressure from these organizations.
Derek Benner: That’s why Our Rescue’s SHIELD program and C3’s iGuardian and Know2Protect initiatives exist—to educate families and communities and reduce victimization.
Mike Prado: Know2Protect has reached over 500 million people, which is phenomenal. Prevention requires awareness and removing stigmas so children can report abuse.
Derek Benner: Smartphones open portals to opportunity, but also to risk. Parents must set guardrails and have honest conversations with children.
The fight against online exploitation requires constant collaboration, innovation, and awareness. As technology evolves, so do the tactics used by those who exploit it. Through partnerships between law enforcement, nonprofits, and communities, and solutions like ICAC Connect Program, we can make an impact and help rescue children in need.
