- S2 Grupo has pointed out that cyberbullying has become the digital version of gender violence.
- To prevent this, the company’s team of experts has drawn up a decalogue with recommendations on cybersecurity so that women who have been victims of male violence and/or harassment can protect themselves in the use of new technologies.
- The lack of awareness of the real risks that can be associated with accepting people we do not know in Social Networks, activating geolocation in applications and the “dictatorship” of “likes” as a means of acceptance and/or social recognition, is which mainly endangers women in this situation.
The company S2 Grupo, which specializes in cybersecurity, has warned that it is very important to raise awareness and provide training on the secure use of new technologies in order to employ them properly and avoid possible risks arising from their use, which is particularly important in the case of women who have been victims of abuse and/or harassment.
“Many times the harasser or the abuser takes advantage of all the information that Social Networks, smartphones or computers give us, for example, to know where his victim is, who she is with, what she is doing, which undoubtedly poses a huge risk“, said José Rosell, managing partner of S2 Grupo.
“In the same way that the use of technologies increases every year, the number of cases of cyberbullying increases. We must bear in mind that it has become the digital version of gender violence and to eradicate it, it is essential to train and raise awareness of society in general and of women who have been victims of it, especially“, said Miguel A. Juan, managing partner of S2 Grupo.
Given this situation, the S2 Grupo team of experts has drawn up a decalogue to prevent cyberbullying. As they have pointed out, an optimal cyber-protection will be aimed at protecting the four main entry doors of a potential cyber-stalker, which are digital identity, technological devices, Internet and Wi-Fi connections and Social Networks.
“In addition to all the basic security tips, in the case of women who have been victims of gender violence, the most important thing they should take into account is what information they publish on Social Networks, especially if a program has been carried out to protect their location from the aggressor. All the information that is published on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp profiles, and even on the contact pages they enter to try to rebuild their lives, is data that the potential harasser can access to and it is very important that they bear in mind that they can find false profiles“, explained José Rosell.
“The main problem is that, even though they are frightened and have suffered really difficult situations, they often do not see the real danger to which they expose themselves by publishing their information on Social Networks with open profiles, connecting to contact websites, etc. In the end we find that the dictatorship of “likes” as a way of social acceptance and recognition, often puts them at risk without knowing it. That is why it is essential to develop an awareness campaign in this area“, said Miguel A. Juan.
Decalogue to prevent cyberbullying
- Protect your digital identity: we all have a digital identity and we must take care of it. Do you know what public information about you is on the web?
- Our digital identity is not only formed by the information we provide, but also by what others publish about us.
- Through our digital identity we can be giving a lot of information and that is why it is interesting to look for ourselves from time to time and find out what data we have by default.
- Be careful with the use of passwords. These are personal and should not be shared. They must be strong (composed of uppercase, lowercase, number and alphanumeric characters) and not related to personal data. In addition, it is important to change them periodically and not use the same one for everything. The use of password management applications may be useful.
- Protect your devices. To do this it is necessary to have an updated antivirus, an updated operating system and, in the same way, all applications are updated. In addition, if other people can have access to our computer or Smartphone we can limit the permissions of the actions that they can perform. It is also essential to cover the webcams when they are not being used. In the case of telephones, it is essential to ensure access to them through a password, pin or pattern.
- Remember that your mobile is yours, nobody should force you to show them your conversations or to activate the geolocation.
- Delete the mobile numbers of people with whom you no longer want to be in contact so that they do not access the information you provide in your WhatsApp profile or block them directly. Remember that WhatsApp conversations can be sent by mail if you need to save them.
- Regarding emails, it is essential to be wary of those where the subject matter has a high “urgency tone” or that incite to click on a link or download an attachment. We also need to verify that we know the sender of the emails.
- Protect your connections. To do this, it is very important to change the name of the home Wi-Fi and the password appears by default.
- Protect your environment and your networks: publish as much as you want, knowing the impact it may have, but do not let anyone force you to publish anything that you do not feel comfortable with or to send them information.
- Set up your Social Networks correctly. Do not admit people you do not know. Beware even of “friends of friends”. Remember that anyone can create a false profile to contact you by pretending to be someone else. If you need to have proof of a comment on Social Networks, you can take a screenshot.
- Remember that applications that work with geo-positioning enabled may be giving a lot of information.
- Beware of publications that promise to “self-destruct” (Snapchat, WhatsApp states, etc…), because they create a false sense of security.
More information:
prensa@s2grupo.es