ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Many threats against schools and students begin on social media, which is why law enforcement agencies sites to try to stop them, DJ Benson & Associates LLC owner Dave Benson says.


What You Need To Know

  • Authorities monitor social media to try to stop potential threats, security expert says

  • Most social media are open-sourced, making it possible to track, expert says

  • Law enforcement looks for changes in behavior, consultant DJ Benson says

  • Technology and keywords are helpful with the process, he says

Multiple Central Florida law enforcement agencies — including in Orange, Osceola and Volusia counties — use a fusion center called CFIX. Daytona Beach Police also uses its own team, called ATAC or Advanced Technology and Cyber Crimes.

With more than 20 years working as a security professional for the U.S. government, Benson now uses his expertise to help workplaces address any potential threats.

“Even if you think you are doing it privately, in fact, if it’s not a secure account, there’s a good chance a lot of folks are watching it, including law enforcement,” Benson says.

With most online activity open-sourced, law enforcement can track it without a warrant, he says. If they find something that gives them reasonable suspicion, that would lead to extra levels of investigation techniques.

“If you’re not doing anything wrong, you don’t have to be concerned,” Benson says.

Law enforcement officials don’t profile anyone, but they do look out for changes in behavior, Benson says.

“Individuals don’t wake up one day one morning and decide to commit an act like this,” Benson says. “They ideate over it, they decide what they’re going to do, how they’re going to do it.”

Keywords are essential in tracking, including “shooting,” “kill” or “gangs,” Benson says.

“They can plug those terms in within a certain vicinity or area, such as a school or other locations, depending whatever else issues they’re working on,” he says.

Detectives also sometime follow the social media pages of a person they suspect may have or will commit a crime, Benson says. If that person is charged, officers likely will scrub through all of his or her social media pages to find more evidence, which could lead to more charges, he says.

“So, long as it’s opened-sourced, it’s perfectly appropriate for a member of law enforcement to friend somebody, and it’s perfectly appropriate to do that under a ruse or fictitious name,” Benson says.

But there are still limits.

For instance, police officers cannot access messages in a private Snapchat group, Benson says. That’s why it’s important for the public to say something when they see something, police say.