The phenomenon of Cyberbullying is increasingly topical and schools are taking action with new awareness campaigns on the subject.
The point is that there are not only cyberbullies, but there are also hackerbullies. In fact, one of the most used methods by hackers to violate devices is identity theft and it is a threat often used in cyberbullying. In addition to defrauding an individual by accessing or opening new lines of credit in their name, cybercriminals can impersonate an individual for other reasons.
For example, if a cyberbully is stalking someone else, they could hack their game account, email address or social media account to impersonate them. This allows them to obtain information from the victim's friends and family or to harass the victim.
Malware can be also employed to hack the target's phone. Thus they can gain access to the GPS location or sensitive personal information contained on the device, such as contacts and images, and stalk a person by looking directly into her room through her device's camera.
You can take several steps to reduce the threat. Often some simple rules, which should already be the daily bread for social networkers, still prove to be a good defense.
Keeping the software always updated, for example, allows you to have all the patches updated to the operating system; using secure and not obvious passwords is another trivial but really useful piece of advice (avoid common or family names, dates of birth and all those easily hackable keywords). There are also programs that help users organize and track passwords so they are less likely to be forgotten or confused.
It is important to never click on a link or download documents and attachments if it is not clear which source they come from. And above all it is good practice not to provide passwords or access to third parties and to prevent the phone from entering the hands of untrusted people. In addition to good cyber security diligence, it is important to teach all internet users, especially children, the importance of fair and honest communication regarding their online activities.
In this, communication and transparency on the risks of cyberbullying must be transmitted in a manner that is not intimidating but as information that is useful for defending oneself and preventing damage, information leaks and data manipulation.
Cyberbullying must also be, like all forms of violence, recognized and communicated so that it can be countered and addressed.
