With increasing access to the internet, cyber-crimes have been on the rise, as reported by Fortune 1000 companies survey (Bag chi & Udo, 2003). Cyberstalking is a cyber-attack that happens when a computer user or victim harassed through electronic communications through platforms such as email, instant messenger, and social media networks towards a specific person. Stalking someone involves monitoring his or her daily activities by following each action to manipulate that person. But in the computer world, the monitoring activities include the use of electronic media either to gather information of a specific individual to use the information against that person.
Stalking Using Technology
Stalking may take various ways that are stalking by strangers, as pointed out by Smith and Tom (2010). It mostly happens from past or current relationships where the stalkers monitor the victims' social media platform activities. The attacker in this case can be a hired or doing for his or personal gains spying someone else.
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Also, cyberstalking can be gender-based, where victims are trolled online (Cole, 2015), which includes sending rape threats and sharing of victims’ personal information online. This happens when a popular person messes up in the public and the social media platforms goes viral against the individuals. These can include the things someone does in his or her private life and this cause an uproar in social media platforms like Facebook and twitter against the gender of that particular individual.
Cyberstalking can also take the form of spouse monitoring the other spouse movements using GPS tracker (Cynthia, Finn and Frasier 2007). It a form of domestic violence, especially when the is a mistrust between the two partners, which pushes the other partner to monitor his or her moments using a GPS tracker. Also, cyberstalking can take the form of profiling celebrities by fans as in for the instance of Patricia Arquette, who blocks her Facebook account because of cyberstalking (Harp, 2012).
Technology has facilitated cyberstalking mainly through spying and eavesdropping. With the advancement in technology, cyberstalking has to take various ways, which includes email stalking, computer stalking, and mobile stalking. With the revolution of mobile phones, they have been so powerful that hidden applications can be installed in the victim's devices with his or her consent. The hidden installed applications enable the attacker to gather information about the victim. Moreover, the attacker can hack into the victim’s computer and gain some personal information about the victim (Cox & Speziale, 2009).
Also, technology has facilitated cyber stalker's anonymity on the internet to hid their activities on the internet (Wykes, 2007; Harrison, 2006). It has enabled the cyberstalker to enjoy the long crime time since he or she cannot easily be found. As reported by Catteneo (2011), 22 out of 82 women said having received unknown email and text messages. With powerful technology such as virtual private networks that provide full anonymity on the internet, it has enabled cyberstalkers to enjoy privacy while causing harassment to the victim.
Examples of cyberstalking is the case of software developer and blogger Kathy Sierra, where she was cyberstalked and cyber bullied by an anonymous group in 2007. Sierra received attackers’ threats of raping her and sharing her personal home address and social security number over the internet. With such threats and attacks Sierra was forced to close her blog and also cancel a seminar in which she was supposed to give a talk (Citron & Keats, 2009).
Laws and Policies
Laws and policies that protect victims from cyberstalking and harassment have been limited in the past. Since stalking was never considered as a crime until 2012 when the protection of Freedoms Act 2012 was introduced, which inserted two new sections 2A and 4A into the PHA 1997, even though, two sections inserted into the law is not directly related to cyberstalking it gives prosecutors guidelines on how such criminals should be prosecuted. Again, the legal definition of stalking in section 2A of the PHA 1997 clearly defines the acts that should be omitted and at what circumstances stalking should be considered a crime.
Laws and policies to protect victims against cyberstalking have been laid down in the following Acts: Protection from Harassment Act 1997, Offenses Against the Person Act 1861, the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and the Malicious Communications Act 1988. These Acts provide protection to victims of stalking from various offenses. I any point when a victim reports about crimes against cyberstalking and harassment, they are laws and policies that protect them from such threats.
Many cases of cyberstalking have been reported, which includes a matter of a minor who pressed charges against a rapist, which turns out the minor be cyber stalked and cyberbullied by classmates. Which pushed the minor to commit suicide (Chapman, 2010)?
Also, another reported case of cyberstalking is a college student who recorded a video of his roommate's sexual intimacy with another man and shared it on the internet. The roommate who was posted that is the victim committed suicide. The college student was sentenced with the invasion of privacy (Bruni, 2012)
Preventive measures
The preventive measure that every user can take to avoid cyberstalking is many. This includes being keen and careful with personal information he or she shares online in platforms such as emails, social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, chat rooms. Such online platforms provide an easy way to gather personal information like residence, people you care about, places you like to go, and photos. With such information, it easy for an attacker to target a user. Thus it very crucial to control the amount of data that every user share s online.
Also, to avoid being a victim of cyberstalking, every user should have different email addresses and accounts for registering on social media platforms. Since a single address used for logging, all the social media accounts it easy for an attacker to link up the email address from all the social accounts. And also to avoid spam and reveal most of your activities online.
References
Bocij, P. T. (2002). Corporate Cyberstalking: An Invitation to Build Theory. First Monday , 7 (11). doi:10.5210/fm. v7i11.1002
Cyberstalking. (2004, March 23). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberstalking#cite_note-citron61-24
Cyberstalking. (2004, March 23). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberstalking#cite_note-Paul_2002-25
Cyberstalking. (2004, March 23). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberstalking#cite_note-52
Online Harassment & Cyberstalking. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://privacyrights.org/consumer-guides/online-harassment-cyberstalking
Samantha Kelly Suicide: Rape Charges Dropped, Mother Speaks Up. (2010, November 13). Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/11/13/samantha-kelly-suicide-sex-miconduct-charges-dropped-as-an-alleged-assailant-walks-free.html
Stalking and Harassment. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/stalking-and-harassment
