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A data scientist who was accused of hacking Florida’s health alert system turned herself in on a felony charge Sunday, Reuters reported.
Rebekah Jones claimed that she was fired in May 2020 for refusing to manipulate data to cover up the severity of COVID-19 outbreaks. She was then accused of hacking a government messaging system to tell employees to speak out about COVID-19 deaths.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement obtained a warrant and searched her home in December.
Jones has been charged with a third-degree felony for using the state’s emergency alert system to send an unauthorized message. “It’s time to speak up before another 17,000 people are dead. You know this is wrong. You don’t have to be a part of this. Be a hero. Speak out before it’s too late,” the message read. She has also been accused of downloading confidential information, NPR reported.
Posted By Dara Kam, NSF on Mon, Jan 18, 2021 at 4:36 PM click to enlarge Photo via Rebekah Jones Former state COVID-19 data scientist Rebekah Jones turned herself in to the Leon County Jail after law enforcement officials issued a warrant for her arrest on allegations that she illegally accessed a Florida Department of Health computer system. Court records show that Jones, who was fired by the Department of Health last year, was released from jail Monday morning after posting a bail bond, which was set at $2,500. She turned herself in Sunday. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement obtained the arrest warrant for Jones, who was fired from the health department position in May and has garnered national attention after alleging that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration was manipulati