In the framework of International Women’s Day, ESETa leading proactive threat detection company, through its podcast Secure Connectionspoke with leaders in the field about digital violence that affects women and girls, also warns about the 3 most common forms of violence and shares recommendations to try to prevent gender-based violence online.

“Although technology has been very useful for women to come into contact, organize and spread the fight against gender inequalities, these same technologies have been used to carry out threats and extortion, disseminate information without consent or carry out other acts of violence against women”, says Camilo Gutiérrez Amaya, Head of the Research Laboratory of ESET Latin America.

The ESET team invites you to listen “8M: Digital violence transcends the border of virtuality” he last chapter of Secure Connectionyour podcast to find out what is happening in the world of computer security. In the same, Together with the Founding in Diversity Foundation, they analyzed the current situation and how violence against women and girls has spread to the digital world. With Martina López, from the ESET Latin America research laboratory, the different forms of digital violence that exist and what their characteristics are are addressed. And together with Argentina Cibersegura, tips and recommendations are shared to reduce the risk of being a victim of some of the most common forms of violence against women and girls, how to prepare children and adolescents for a safe digital life, and what a person can do who is suffering some form of online gender violence.

According to the Take Back The Tech! there is 3 most common forms of violence against women. The ESET research team explains them and shares recommendations to try to prevent gender-based violence online:

Blackmail: It occurs when threatening to reveal defamatory or harmful information about a person if a certain price is not paid. This price is not always monetary, but may include sexual favors or emotional control over the affected person. A special case is that of revenge porn: when someone posts content such as photos or videos without the consent of the affected party, either to cause humiliation or to sell the content to third parties. Whether the photos have been obtained by hacking, by physical access to devices or even by trust, the practice of sexting itself should not be stigmatized. Violating that privacy is a crime, and complaints should be taken seriously; Phrases like “it’s your fault” or “you asked for it” should not be accepted as a response to the victim’s concern.

It is important and it should be known that there are associated risks and therefore, from ESET it is recommended to take into account good security practices.

Cyber ​​bullying: Cyberbullying has to do with the harassment, humiliation and injuries suffered through the use of digital media. It includes identity theft, creation of false online profiles, and even surveillance through spyware (software that is installed on the computer without a user being aware of it) or access to social network profiles. In many cases, the attackers hide behind anonymity and incite their hate campaign by using hashtags and posts to be shared by groups of people. When suffering these attacks, it is convenient to block the stalker and try to cut the lines of communication immediately. In the event that abusive messages keep coming, copies of the communications should be kept, not deleted. This will serve as support to go to the authorities. Due to the increase in cases and the fact that more and more women have raised their voices, the legislation is changing to contemplate and give attention to this problem.

Hate speech: It refers to any expression that trivializes, glorifies or incites gender violence. It should not be confused with freedom of expression, which is a universal right, but has limitations as it comes into contact with other rights. In most countries, hate speech is prohibited when it incites violence or harmful actions against other people. One of the most repeated scenarios has to do with hate speech against women journalists; especially when dealing with topics historically dominated by men, such as sports, games or politics.

ESET launches the chapter “8M: Digital violence transcends the border of virtuality” of its Conexión Segura podcast.

Recommendations for using technology safely

Passwords:

• Use a strong password and do not repeat it on several sites, since the sites can be compromised. If this happens and the password is unique to that site, they won’t be able to use it for other services and this will minimize the damage.
• Password managers are a good idea to be able to manage access to the different services and platforms that are used.
• Activate two-step authentication for access to emails or social networks, to receive a special code each time you want to access from an unrecognized device. If you are an attacker trying to enter, you will not be able to do so even if you know the password, since you will not have access to that special code that is sent to the phone.

Navigation:

• If you are going to send sensitive or confidential information, avoid doing it from public networks such as bars or cafes; wait until you are on a trusted network.
• In case of connecting to a public network, it is advisable to use a VPN, so that the information travels encrypted.
• Make sure to browse safe and reliable sites that use https. It can be recognized by the green lock in the address bar of the web browser. A browser extension such as HTTPS Everywhere can also be used.

Mobile phones:

• Use a PIN or code lock to prevent physical access to the device.
• Use information encryption. Thus, the photos, videos and other contents of the phone will not be accessible without the password. To learn how to encrypt data on Apple devices go here and for Android devices here.
• If you need to delete information, keep in mind that sometimes it is not enough to delete it from the device. In some cases the information has been automatically uploaded to the cloud, and it is also necessary to delete it there. In the case of Android this is disabled by default, but in the case of Apple devices, there is a guide to disable automatic syncing with iCloud.
• Use antivirus software. Whatever you like, let it be good and known; but beware of fake antivirus.

“We hope that these resources and recommendations serve to prevent acts of violence online, and we trust that together we can become aware of entrenched practices that hurt and affect many women in our region,” adds Gutiérrez Amaya from ESET.

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