Cyber Talk: Women, stay safe online
The internet is an essential part of our daily life. Its instant broadcasting capability has changed the lives of billions of people, particularly women. Women’s opportunities have expanded thanks to the worldwide web, which helps them access a variety of employment options, earn additional income, gain access to knowledge, boost economic growth and create a […]
The internet is an essential part of our daily life. Its instant broadcasting capability has changed the lives of billions of people, particularly women. Women’s opportunities have expanded thanks to the worldwide web, which helps them access a variety of employment options, earn additional income, gain access to knowledge, boost economic growth and create a more inclusive, digital world.
While we see the benefits, we also see the drawbacks. Cyber stalking, cyber extortion, cyber bullying, cybersex trafficking and phishing are the most common crimes committed online against women, and the severity of these threats can have severe physical and psychological consequences. This cycle has been vicious and never-ending, and it is time for women to take control and stop the attacks on them. Here are a few digital safety tips and digital intelligence tips.
Crimes that women face online
• Doxing: It is the act of publicly revealing earlier private personal information about an individual or organisation. Fraudsters usually acquire information from publicly available databases, past social media postings and social engineering. Doxing could lead to online shaming or extortion.
• Cyberstalking: Repeated tracking of an individual using electronic means (for example, making unwanted phone calls, leaving voice messages or unwanted messages, spying or monitoring social media activities, posting or threatening to post unwanted information on the internet). Cyberstalking can lead to emotional distress and cause bodily harm to the victim.
• Swatting: An act of making hoax emergency phone calls to provoke law enforcement
• Sextortion: A form of cyber extortion in which people are forced to do sexual favours. Sextortion may lead to the distribution of personal and intimate photos
• Revenge porn: Involves online publication of sexually explicit images or videos that are typically taken with consent, but published without authorisation. Mostly done by former spouse or partner.
• Online Sexual Harassment: Receiving unwanted sexual advances or sexual favour requests. Content could include explicit pictures, content, jokes and misogyny.
• Defamation: Incorrect statement of fact that could harm someone’s reputation. A few examples are accusing someone of being a thief, a liar or other unethical behaviour
• Online impersonation: Fraudsters create a fake account pretending to be you, commit fraud and ask for money from your social media contacts, which also serves as an incentive to encourage others to harass the victim.
• Hate speech: Includes spreading incitement, promoting or justifying racial hatred and engaging in political, corporate, or competitor rivalry.
A few digital safety tips
• Only browse websites with HTTPS:// (Padlock symbol)
• Use complex passwords with capital letters, numbers, special characters
• Set up two-step authentication for all social media, email and banking logins (2FA)
• Never click short links sent via SMS, WhatsApp and social media messengers
• Turn off your location while viewing or uploading images
• Only use end-to-end encryption messengers
• Set privacy parameters for all social media, messenger and email applications
• Be careful while sharing sensitive information on social media platforms. (Financial, Login Credentials, Organisation and Personal Information)
• Connect with real and known people only. (Alternatively, choose to lock your profiles. Using privacy settings)
• Consent should be treated the same for offline and online interactions
• Never leave your webcam plugged in
• Secure your smartphone and laptops with anti-virus and anti-malware software
• Never access public WiFi unless you are sure that it’s a secured network
• Download apps only from reputable sources (such as Google Play or Apple App Store)
Digital intelligence tips
• Examine how apps access your data – https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/
• Install the Light Beam Browser plugin (how companies share data) – https://myshadow.org/resources/lightbeam?locale=en
• Check https://amibeingpwned.com for password breaches for your email account
• For image verification, go to http://exifdata.com/ or https://images.google.com or https://www.tineye.com/
• Un Shorten the urls – http://www.unshorten.it/
• Use https://isitphishing.org/ to see if a website is engaged in phishing activity
• If you receive an email and are suspicious, examine the entire email header (https://mxtoolbox.com/EmailHeaders.aspx)
• Disable Google activity (https://myactivity.google.com/)
• Turn off the options –Allow Apps to Track Other Apps’ Activities
Few resources on women online safety:
• https://securityinabox.org/en/
• https://exposingtheinvisible.org/resources/#filter=.watching-out-yourself
• https://hackblossom.org/cybersecurity/
• https://www.accessnow.org/help/
• https://takebackthetech.net/
• https://infosecawareness.in/women
• https://feministinternet.org/en
If you are victim of cybercrime
• Take all screenshots of the offence and report it on social media portals
• Register a complaint on https://cybercrime.gov.in/ or dial toll free helpline 1930
