Tag Archive for: Marathon

Cyber-sleuth boots 15 cheaters from today’s Boston Marathon

/in

Here in Hopkinton, Mass., this morning, 15 fewer runners – cheaters, actually — are gathering for the start of the Boston Marathon than would have otherwise, thanks to the cyber-sleuthing efforts of an Ohio business analyst.

Derek Murphy has made it his business to purge marathoning and, in particular, the Boston competition, of those who by hook, crook – or writing a check – seek to run as official entrants without having done the training to produce a legitimate qualifying time.

From a story posted Saturday in Runner’s World.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Network World Paul McNamara

Watching a ‘Swatting’ slowly unfold within sight of the Boston Marathon starting line

/in

Approaching the center of town to pick up pizza last night, I saw a half-dozen police vehicles blocking off Main Street. I pulled into a parking lot both to figure out how to get to our dinner and to find out what was going on.

The instant a bystander told me what he had heard, I knew this police operation was almost certainly the result of a hoax known as Swatting, which starts with a fake 911 call reporting a non-existent life-threatening situation. It’s become an epidemic of late, targeting celebrities and online gamers, in particular.

While police had no choice but to take the threat seriously – more on that in a minute — I was confident this was a hoax for two reasons: I have been reporting on the topic recently and the rumored details of the 911 call seemed far-fetched: a man claimed to be holed up in the closed Hopkinton Public Library with two hostages and a bomb. (Not only did I believe this was a Swatting, I said it out loud, so the editor of a local news site called HopNews decided I was worth interviewing.)

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Network World Paul McNamara

Refuse to be terrorized after Boston Marathon bombs; stay calm, stay free

/in

The Boston Marathon bombings were horrifying, and the people of Boston are in my prayers, but as President Obama stated, “The American people refuse to be terrorized.” Right after it happened, the president avoided called it a terrorist attack, but the FBI almost immediately called it an act of terrorism.
Ms. Smith’s blog