Cyber Safety for Women

Let’s start by saying that, in this day and age, the notion of privacy is further and further removed from society both offline and, especially, online. In the offline world, i.e., the public sphere, we always leave some sort of trail of our activities and whereabouts, by way of CCTV cameras at every street corner and in nearly every building we walk into, or credit card swipes for purchases we make. In the online world, privacy as a concept is virtually non-existent. There is always some record of the activities we do, which can easily be obtained by anybody if they have enough time and resources. Some of this data that online services collect may be claimed to be non-identifiable, but repetitive activities, coupled with location and phone number data, may easily form a pattern of behaviour that can be used to identify you.

According to a study conducted by the University of Washington, ‘women are more concerned than men about their privacy, both as a watcher and the watched.’ Furthermore, ‘The study also shows almost twice as many women as men voicing concern about even real-time display of their images.’ Women from the age of 18-49 are considered a highly valued demographic in terms of internet marketing opportunities. One could consider the example of iVillage, cited by Erik Larson in the New Yorker, where a pregnant woman can enter her due date and receive a calendar that shows daily physiological changes within her body. Women whose calendars overlap are directed to a "Pregnancy Circle" - an online support group where they can exchange advice and concerns, and are simultaneously prompted to purchase items such as books from Amazon, baby goods from iVillage's iBaby, and maternity clothes from iVillage's iMaternity. The same sort of data collection and targeted advertising applies to apps and services that chart one’s menstrual cycles, facilitate online dating and online matrimonial alliances.

One Professor Ann Bartow of the University of New Hampshire School of Law, in Our Data, Ourselves: Privacy, Propertization, and Gender, opines that “unregulated online data collection is a threat to all consumers. Because women do most of the shopping, and most of the "sharing," in meet space, and their presence is increasing in cyberspace, they are most vulnerable to the slings and arrows of online consumer profilers.” Because women control the spending habits and patterns of their households, they are a special target for the collection of information and profiling based on the data collected. Professor Bartow argues that some sort of regulatory legislation for online data collection and retention needs to be in place to prevent women from being targeted.

An unfortunate number of women are becoming victims of cybercrimes. Young women between ages 18 and 24, experience certain severe types of harassment at disproportionately high levels: 26% of these young women have been stalked online, and 25% were the target of online sexual harassment. The growing reach of the Internet and the rapid spread of information through mobile devices have presented new opportunities that could put some women at risk, so it’s important to be mindful of the dangers online. 

In the case of women, the expectation of privacy is not limited to online shopping demographics, but also extends to digital security. For women, there is a real threat to their emotional and mental well-being. There are so many instances where prominent female activists and personalities become targets of online smear campaigns, bullying, and gender-based harassment, and are in many cases forced to shut down, given the disturbing and sexually abusive nature of these cyber threats. 

There are ways to sidestep these online risks, and they are things we’ve ourselves spoken about in our other articles, but there’s nothing quite like getting basic and simple solutions right. 

• Maintain strong passwords or pass-phrases, and don’t share them with anybody. 
• Disconnect your webcam whenever it’s not in use, or simply cover it up with a piece of opaque paper and tape.
• Don’t share pictures, videos, documents, and other information that can’t be shared offline and in private, especially if there isn’t 100% trust in the other party.
• If you’ve met someone online and want to meet in person, do so in a public space or go with someone you know.
• Update your phone and computer’s software. Security patches are always being updated, and are necessary for the online realm.
• Read the fine print of services, especially their privacy policy concerning data collection and storage.
• Block people online with whom you don’t wish to interact.

This isn’t to say that the onus of safeguarding one’s online presence is only on women. We can and should all do our part and not condone and participate in predatory and bullying behaviour anywhere, online and offline. Negative experiences on the net do disproportionately affect women, who experience its effects in the real world. Doosra can help add a layer of security when it comes to your phone number. With Doosra, you get a secondary virtual number that automatically blocks anyone trying to reach you and keeps critical information linked to your actual phone number safe. For more details log on to www.doosra.com