Sting Operation Fools a Proctoring Service—and Results in Blackmail Attempt
Kathryn Palmer
March 28, 2024
A staff member at a Florida college, posing as a student, hires a contract cheating firm to test the institution’s systems for preventing fraud. The outcome offers lessons for instructors and students as virtual learning expands.
Katie Ragsdale sat in an empty conference room on the campus of Polk State College in central Florida earlier this year and watched her laptop screen as a professional cheater she hired took an online multiple-choice College Algebra exam for her. She tried to act natural, knowing that any suspicious activity, such as prolonged glances away from the screen, could trip up Honorlock, an AI-powered proctoring service the college uses.
“I just sat there and pretended to take the test,” she said. “They were controlling my computer.”
Before the test, the hired cheaters had her download a VPN to hide their location outside the U.S. and the remote-control platform that provided the access for them to take over her laptop. On the day of the test, all Ragsdale had to focus on was proving her identity to Honorlock before the cheater took over her computer screen.
