John Rayne Rivello, 29, of Maryland, sent Kurt Eichenwald an
animated image with a flashing light on Twitter in December, causing the
seizure.
He has been charged with criminal cyber stalking and could face
a 10-year sentence, the New York Times reports.
"You deserve a seizure for your post," he is
alleged to have written.
Mr Eichenwald is known to have epilepsy. He is a senior
writer at Newsweek magazine, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a best-selling
author of books including The Informant.
Investigators found that Mr Rivello had sent messages to
other Twitter users about Mr Eichenwald and a plan to attack him virtually,
including one that read: "I hope this sends him into a seizure".
"Spammed this at [victim] let's see if he dies,"
another message read, according to the justice department.
Investigators found a screenshot on his iCloud account of an
altered Wikipedia page for Mr Eichenwald, falsely listing his date of death as
16 December, a day after the image was sent.
Tweet 'caused' epileptic seizure
"Spammed this at [victim] let's see if he dies,"
another message read, according to the justice department.
Investigators found a screenshot on his iCloud account of an
altered Wikipedia page for Mr Eichenwald, falsely listing his date of death as
16 December, a day after the image was sent.
He had also researched epilepsy seizure triggers on the
epilepsy.com website.
The Twitter message was no different from "a bomb sent
in the mail or anthrax sent in an envelope," Steven Lieberman, a lawyer
for Mr Eichenwald, told the New York Times. "It triggers a physical
effect."…
Mr Eichenwald is reported to have suffered the effects of
the seizure for several weeks. He tweeted on Friday that more than 40 people
had sent him "strobes" after learning about the case.
After the attack was reported in December, Stefano Seri, a
professor of neurophysiology at Aston University in the UK, said the material
in the tweet must have been carefully constructed.
"Abrupt changes in light intensity, or luminance, can
trigger seizures. The most sensitive range is about 15-25 flashes per
second," he said.
"The picture would need to occupy most of the visual
field. It would take some very sick people to do this, but technically, it is
possible.
"Modern LED screens are not as provocative as older
ones. It takes a very carefully designed stimulus to induce a seizure,"
Prof Seri added.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39315393
Courtesy of a colleague
When the journalist Kurt Eichenwald opened an animated image sent to him on Twitter in December, the message “You deserve a seizure for your posts” appeared in capital letters along with a blinding strobe light. Mr. Eichenwald, who has epilepsy, immediately suffered a seizure.
ReplyDeleteOn Friday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it had arrested John Rayne Rivello, 29, at his home in Salisbury, Md., and accused him of sending the electronic file. The agency charged Mr. Rivello with criminal cyberstalking with the intent to kill or cause bodily harm.
The charge could carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years, according to the United States district attorney in Dallas, who is prosecuting the case.
The unusual case has shown how online tools can be deployed as weapons capable of physical harm. The F.B.I. and the Dallas police led the investigation into Mr. Rivello, and the police said he sent the strobe light knowing that it was likely to lead Mr. Eichenwald, who has publicly discussed his epilepsy, into a seizure…
That comparison makes Mr. Eichenwald’s case different from other claims of harmful attacks using social media. Lawsuits involving stalking and bullying on the internet have focused on how online content, such as disparaging and abusive messages and pictures, can harm victims emotionally and even increase the risk of suicide. But with this case, Mr. Rivello is said to have designed the attack specifically around the victim’s medical condition.
“This is an interesting and unique case in that there are lots of online attacks that can have physical consequences, such as an attack on an electrical grid or the control of air traffic control,” said Vivek Krishnamurthy, an assistant director at the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard Law School. “But this is distinguishable because it is a targeted physical attack that was personal, using a plain-Jane tool.”
Investigators found evidence of the plan to attack Mr. Eichenwald from a search of Mr. Rivello’s Twitter account, the Justice Department said in a statement. After obtaining a search warrant for Mr. Rivello’s social media account, investigators found direct messages to other Twitter users about Mr. Eichenwald, including one that read, “I hope this sends him into a seizure.”
Other Twitter messages from Mr. Rivello included one that read, “I know he has epilepsy.”…
Late in the evening on Dec. 15, Mr. Eichenwald went to his home office in Dallas and saw that @jew_goldstein [a pseudonym for Mr. Riviello]had replied to a Twitter post with a GIF. When Mr. Eichenwald clicked on the file, the strobe light triggered the seizure, his lawyer said. Mr. Eichenwald fell to the ground.
His wife, Theresa, found him on the floor and saw the Twitter post on his computer screen. She called 911 and then replied on Twitter: “@jew_goldstein This is his wife, you caused a seizure. I have your information and have called the police to report the assault.”
Mr. Eichenwald was incapacitated for several days, lost feeling in his left hand and had trouble speaking for several weeks, according to his lawyer.
Soon after, he contacted the Dallas district attorney’s office. In state court, Mr. Eichenwald’s lawyer filed for permission to serve a subpoena of Twitter to gain access to the account for @jew_goldstein. The social media company indicated it would cooperate, which drew protest from an anonymous “John Doe” filing that was intended to quash the subpoena.
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