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Kids' Respiratory Virus Surge Overwhelming Hospitals; School Officer's Workout Program Keeps Kids Out Of Trouble; How A Hacker Cracked A CNN Correspondent's Passwords. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired October 21, 2022 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:30:00]
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: But the point is that there were 911 calls from kids inside the classroom 40 minutes -- basically before he made this command over the radio -- indicating that they were trapped inside this classroom. And why he didn't hear that information and why that information wasn't relayed to him is still a big question and part of the failure in all of this.
And again, as you said, we have to keep pushing. We have to keep asking these questions.
And we have to find these officials. It's not like they're on some public schedule and we can go and sort of find them like that. We have to ask questions.
We have to ask questions of sources who are risking their own careers but they feel that it is important enough for this information to come out because they feel -- strongly feel that there is a coverup inside of DPS over what happened here. And that is why they are talking. That is why they are providing information to us because they are very concerned over how this investigation is being handled.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Shimon. Thank you so much for these new details. Shimon Prokupecz, who continues to report on this story so many months later.
Doctors are warning parents about a recent dramatic rise in respiratory viruses in children. You have school-aged kids. You know what I'm talking about. I sure do. We'll discuss how you can keep your kids safe, next.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Are your online passwords secure? CNN's Donie O'Sullivan let friendly hackers show him just how vulnerable his online presence is. Wait until you see what the hackers found.
(COMMERCIAL)
[07:35:28]
BERMAN: This morning, doctors are reporting an unprecedented rise in respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, especially among children and it's causing new concerns as we head into the colder months. CNN medical correspondent Dr. Tara Narula is here with this. So what are we seeing in the hospitals with kids when it comes to RSV?
DR. TARA NARULA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're definitely seeing a nationwide uptick in RSV and, in particular, in kids and increased hospitalizations across the country. Yesterday, we reported on a hospital in Connecticut that saw 100 cases in the last 10 days. That's not unusual. We're seeing this report from all over the country in many of these pediatric hospitals.
We know that, in general, respiratory syncytial virus is very common in kids under one. In fact, it's the most common cause of lower respiratory tract infections in that younger population. About 58,000 hospitalizations per year, in general, for kids under five, but over two million outpatient visits.
So we usually do well in treating these kids. They get supportive care, even when they go to the hospital, and they usually recover. So it's really important to point that out.
But certainly, it's going to be interesting to see what happens as we go into the winter season with COVID and the flu.
BERMAN: What are parents on the lookout for? What should they be on the lookout for?
NARULA: So, parents should be on the lookout -- first of all, we don't want to scare parents, right?
BERMAN: Right.
NARULA: We want them to be aware.
BERMAN: They're scared enough.
NARULA: They're scared enough.
BERMAN: If you have -- if you have a 1-year-old you're scared enough as it is.
NARULA: So, runny nose, sneeze, cough, fever, wheezing. If you have a young baby, then you may want to look for things like irritability, decreased activity, or changes in their breathing. Certainly, if a child is not keeping down liquids, their symptoms are getting worse, and you notice that their nose is flaring and they're really breathing from their belly, that's the time when you would want to go to the hospital.
Pediatricians do have tests because a lot of this can look similar to COVID or the flu and it's hard to tell the difference. But you can get a test for your child. And usually, again, the care is supportive. So, fever-reducers, pain-reducers, hydration.
But we think we're seeing this uptick because kids really weren't exposed for the last two years at all. And this is normally an infection that all of us get before the age of two. And so, we're just seeing this big volume of kids, likely at older ages, who probably never had RSV because of the masking and social distancing.
But important to wash hands, cover coughs and sneezes, and disinfect because it can live on surfaces -- the viral particles -- for hours. So all the same things we talked about for COVID.
BERMAN: All the same things. And if you're sick, don't go to school.
NARULA: Right.
BERMAN: Stay home.
NARULA: And don't hug your kids or if you get -- a lot of them get it from older siblings, right? So keep them apart. Don't kiss, hug, and get close contact if you're sick.
BERMAN: All right, Dr. Tara Narula, great to see you. Thank you very much.
NARULA: Thank you.
BERMAN: So, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi caught on leaked audio bragging about his friendship with Vladimir Putin and the 20 bottles of vodka the Russian president gifted him.
KEILAR: And a school resource officer going beyond the call of duty helping disciplined students find the right path through a grueling early-morning workout class.
(COMMERCIAL)
[07:43:12]
KEILAR: A school resource officer in Connecticut has found a way to keep high schoolers healthy, focused, and out of trouble.
CNN's Brynn Gingras shows us how he's going beyond the call.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 5:30 in the morning and school resource officer Michael Barry begins his day, not yet patrolling the halls of Ansonia High School in Connecticut --
MICHAEL BARRY, ANSONIA HIGH SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER: OK, so this is how we're going to do it.
GINGRAS (voice-over): -- rather, welcoming a special group of sleepy- eyed students --
BARRY: All the plank --
GINGRAS (voice-over): -- and leading them through a grueling hour- and-a-half workout before classes begin.
BARRY: One, two, three, none.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Some students come here by choice; others have been required to show up.
BARRY: When I first came, there was a lot of different disorderly conduct, threatening, different arrests that became juvenile court referrals. In lieu of that, do seven days with me at 5:30 in the morning or 10 days with me at 5:30 in the morning, depending on the offense.
Great job, guys. Back out here.
GINGRAS (voice-over): It's a diversion program the Ansonia police officer created 12 years ago. Barry says, on average, 45 students get referred to his workouts each school year. Ninety-eight percent of those kids complete the mandate and almost all don't re-offend. That's why it's got the blessing of the school, the courts, and even parents.
BARRY: You call the parents and say listen, in lieu of a juvenile summons for threatening -- and the parents are like absolutely. I'll have them here at 5:30.
GINGRAS (on camera): It's early for a high schooler.
BARRY: Yes. And at 4:30, they have to get up and they've got to get ready. And they have to change their schedule and their behavior.
Guys, it's supposed to be hard.
What I try to instill in them is that you can do anything -- anything you put your mind to -- because this is not easy getting up this early in the morning.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Senior Jaden Serrano (PH) got caught vaping last year on school grounds -- typically, a $125 fine. Instead, he spent five mornings with Officer Barry --
[07:45:00]
JADEN SERRANO, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: Today -- like, I set multiple alarms just to get up for this.
GINGRAS (voice-over): -- and now chooses to keep coming back.
SERRANO: I totally just wanted to keep going because I saw what I was capable of. I never thought I was capable of that.
BARRY: How you feel, buddy?
That's really what the whole program is about -- my relationships with them. You train with me every day. You know me. I'm here for you. Before you lose your mind, before you say something stupid, before you take a swing at somebody, come with me.
GINGRAS (voice-over): For some students, it's just a healthy way to get their day started.
SAMANTHA ROTTECK, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: This is kind of like one of the most difficult parts of my day because first of all, you're getting up, and then you're working like really hard. So after that, I feel like more focused.
GINGRAS (on camera): What sort of difference have you seen in the kids?
BARRY: They are much more alert in school, much more respectful.
Tuck your chin.
GINGRAS (voice-over): A program shaping lives one pre-dawn workout at a time.
BARRY: You guys have a great day, OK?
GINGRAS (voice-over): Brynn Gingras, CNN, Ansonia, Connecticut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: You got to love that.
This morning, Steve Bannon will get sentenced for defying a subpoena from the January 6 Committee, and we are live at the federal courthouse, next.
BERMAN: But just how secure are your passwords? CNN's Donie O'Sullivan found out the hard way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EVAN TOBAC, HEAD OF RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, SOCIALPROOF SECURITY: Is this a password that you use now?
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
RACHEL TOBAC, FRIENDLY HACKER, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, SOCIALPROOF SECURITY: How do you feel about that?
O'SULLIVAN: I -- eh.
(COMMERCIAL)
[07:50:00]
BERMAN: We have a CNN special report this morning. Most of us try to avoid having our personal information hacked online, but CNN's Donie O'Sullivan did it on purpose. He asked for it, all to show how hackers can get into online accounts -- his. And Donie, a brave man, joins me now. Donie, this was something.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, John. I mean, if you think you have secure passwords like I did, think again. Have a watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): So it's been three years since you last hacked me here in Vegas --
R. TOBAC: Yes.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): -- Rachel.
R. TOBAC: Yes.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): You have stolen about two and a half thousand dollars' worth of hotel points.
A lot has changed. There's been a pandemic, there is a new president. I am still wearing the same shirt, though, so --
R. TOBAC: Oh, yes.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): You have put me in a middle seat.
R. TOBAC: On a 5-hour flight.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): Oh, my God.
This time -- I mean, as far as I know, you haven't broken into any of my accounts so far, or anything like that.
R. TOBAC: No.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): OK.
R. TOBAC: I'm about to do that right now.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): OK.
R. TOBAC: Most people, when they log into their accounts, they reuse their passwords or they change it just ever so slightly. And when you do that, if you've been in a breach, which all of us have, that means I can take that password and I can shove that into all the other sites that you log into.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): I have been using quite a few of the same passwords over the years. I've gotten a bit better --
R. TOBAC: Yes.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): -- with some accounts.
R. TOBAC: I guess we'll find out
I'm going to go to a data breach repository site --
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): Right.
R. TOBAC: -- and I'm going to put in your email address. You can see here that you're involved in 13 breaches just with this email address alone.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): Wow.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Online, there are sites that collect all that breached information, like email addresses and passwords, and it's likely some of your data is in there, too.
R. TOBAC: We have our first password that I've found. Does that look familiar to you, Donie?
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): Yes. That's a password I still -- I use today, occasionally.
R. TOBAC: OK. So you were using that on LinkedIn.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): Many times.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Tip number one, don't use the same password for different services. Your password for your Gmail should be different to the password for your Instagram. If one of these services gets attacked and your password is leaked, hackers can use it to get into a different site if you are using that same password.
R. TOBAC: The hackers got a lot of information, some of which included a hash. We also were able to crack one of your passwords. The other half is Evan. He's the other half of SocialProof Security? I want to bring him in here and who you what it looked like when he cracked your password.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): Evan emerges from the darkness.
R. TOBAC: Slide in there, Evan.
E. TOBAC: I can take all the passwords that we know about you, put it in a word list, and then try 10,000 different little tweaks that you'll probably try. I can add a number at the end. I could add a special character. And we did that with your password list and we cracked one of your new passwords.
Is this a password that you use now?
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): Yes.
R. TOBAC: How do you feel about that?
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Tip number two, don't use very similar passwords across different websites if you don't want people like Evan being able to figure out your password.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): I should probably go change my passwords. That's not great.
R. TOBAC: It's not.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): So what are the tips for people not to be like me?
R. TOBAC: Well, first and foremost, it is on the companies to avoid getting hacked and prevent breaches like this. Many companies do not use MFA internally -- that second step -- when they're logging in. We need them to use that.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): MFA is multi-factor authentication, which is when they text you a code or whatever after you put in your password.
R. TOBAC: Text you a code. You look at an app. You have a prompt on your phone. That's your second step. So if I get your password, I still can't log into your account because I don't have that code.
Don't reuse your passwords. If you reuse your passwords across multiple sites, even for sites that you deem silly or kind of a throwaway site, I can take that password and I can use it against you. So you have to use long, random, and unique passwords for every single site.
I recommend storing it in a password manager, which keeps all of your passwords safe and encrypted and can generate good passwords for you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'SULLIVAN: So, you need strong passwords.
BERMAN: That's the lesson you learned here is you --
O'SULLIVAN: You need strong and you need different passwords -- yes.
BERMAN: Well, can't see it.
O'SULLIVAN: "Top of the morning one" is not an acceptable password, John Berman.
BERMAN: Donie and I have been sitting here for the last few minutes coming up with what I think his passwords are, none of which we can really repeat on T.V. now.
I want to bring in the CEO of SocialProof Security and friendly hacker, Rachel Tobac, who was in that piece. Rachel, thank you so much for being with us. And thank you for hacking Donie --
O'SULLIVAN: Oh, yes, thank you.
BERMAN: -- and giving us this entertainment and these important lessons.
Help us. What do we need to do to keep our passwords safe?
R. TOBAC (via Webex by Cisco): Yes, and like I mentioned to Donie, it's so important to avoid reusing your passwords because that is the very easiest way for me to hack you.
[07:55:00]
When I hacked Donie last time, it took so much work. It was really laborious. This -- I was able to find 13 of his passwords within 30 seconds.
So it's a completely different beast when you reuse your passwords and you don't store them in a password manager.
KEILAR: OK. But Rachel, if you are using a different password for a different site, then you end up with so many passwords. I know that I've tried to do this and I do this, then I end up forgetting them. Like, my life is spent sending myself emails to reset passwords because I forget them.
So, what are the alternatives? Because I know that you can also have passwords where you -- I mean, I suppose you can write them down. That doesn't seem secure. You can also protect them online, but then how protected are they there?
R. TOBAC: Right. A password manager is the very best tool to use because there is just no way we could remember the hundreds of passwords that we need to remember to use the sites across the internet. So use a password manager that can actually lay on top of your browser and let you know when you're logging into a legit site.
BERMAN: Oh, that is such good advice. By the way, Brianna's password is "Best co-anchor ever!_"
KEILAR: I have some numbers. I have to have some numbers in there, too.
BERMAN: One, two, three, four.
Donie -- like, what does it feel like to sit there and see your passwords in front of you?
O'SULLIVAN: Scary. I mean, I think what the people at home should really understand is that it is likely if you're watching this that your password is out there somewhere because major companies like LinkedIn, Yahoo, and others have been hacked through the years and your password is just lying out there. So if you haven't changed your password in years or use the same one over and over again, it is really likely that somebody could break into your account.
KEILAR: I wonder, Rachel, when you're talking about how to be safe online -- I mean, some of this stuff we're going to struggle with and we're using technology all the time. What if you have parents or grandparents -- they're using email, they're on Facebook, they're purchasing things online. They may not be able to navigate some of this stuff as easily.
Do you have any advice for folks who may not be as internet savvy to make sure that they can protect themselves?
R. TOBAC: Absolutely. It's really all about your threat model. So if you're not used to using the internet and maybe you don't feel like you have those tech-savvy skills, it is perfectly OK to write your passwords in a password notebook and store that in a lockbox in your house. You know, most everyday Americans are not in the public eye, and so that's a perfectly fine thing for them to do.
If your threat model is higher -- it's more elevated because you are in the public eye -- you are being harassed, you are a politician or you have a really big Twitch stream following, then I would say you probably want to stick to something like a password manager because that's the best tool for your threat model. So, Donie, password manager for you. Everybody else -- if you aren't
in the public eye, I think it's OK for you to store your passwords in a notebook in a lockbox if that's the right method for you to be able to avoid reusing your passwords.
BERMAN: Rachel, very quickly, the multi-factor authentication, if I said that word right. It's a very long word. It's hard for me. You know, the one where you get the text messages.
How effective are those? Can those inoculate you completely? And what about the facial recognition stuff?
R. TOBAC: Well, there are no silver bullets, as you know, so multi- factor authentication can be thwarted. But the majority of attacks that happen with passwords that are breached online are bot attacks. And so, MFA (multi-factor authentication) -- you got it right -- is going to protect you most of the time. So it's the very best thing that you can do in addition to not reusing your password.
BERMAN: I like how you said it many times just to make me feel bad, but I can't say it was.
Donie O'Sullivan, Rachel Tobac, it's a terrific piece. Thank you so much for helping us understand how much work we have to do to keep our information safe. Appreciate it.
R. TOBAC: Thanks for having me.
BERMAN: NEW DAY continues right now.
Steve Bannon about to learn his fate for defying a congressional subpoena.
I'm John Berman with Brianna Keilar.
The former Trump campaign chief and White House adviser is scheduled to be sentenced next hour for contempt of Congress. He failed to comply with a subpoena from the January 6 Committee.
KEILAR: Prosecutors are recommending a 6-month sentence. Bannon is seeking probation. The DOJ is also pushing back on a request by Bannon to delay serving any sentence while his appeal of the conviction plays out.
I want to bring in CNN's Katelyn Polantz. She is live outside of the federal court in Washington with more on what we can expect here -- Katelyn.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Brianna, today is really a test of how much punishment will be delivered to someone who was flouting a congressional subpoena. That is what happened with Steve Bannon. He was convicted of two charges in the federal.
