Cybertechnology has had a credible impact on interactions between offenders and victims. Offenders are responsible for the victimization. It is crucial that information technology users exercise caution to mitigate threats and risks. Victim precipitation to cyber victimization is the effort to identify how a victim’s behavior contributed to their own victimization. This is not to be aligned with victim blaming as the effort does not support that individuals are responsible for the victimization that they experience. The main goal of victim precipitation is to determine errors made and show potential ways a victim could make themselves safer when utilizing information technology. By identifying factors and individual aspects that may have contributed to their victimization, victims can potentially prevent the event from happening again. Overall, this outcome is the most ideal.
Malicious actors such as black hats attack vulnerabilities in security to gain access to unauthorized data. Realized vulnerabilities allow a perpetrator to gain access to confidential data that in turn may be exploited. Some of the tools that black hats utilize that information technology users must remain mindful of are hacking, malicious code, or phishing schemes. “Phishing is a type of fraud in which an attacker attempts to trick the victim into providing private information such as credit card numbers, passwords, dates of birth, bank account numbers, automated teller machines (ATM) pins, and social security numbers” (Kim, D., & Solomon, M. G. (n.d.). Scammers use phishing to commit identity theft, using email or IM (instant messaging).
Cyberbullying is described as intentional harm inflicted through computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices. To further understand instances of cyberstalking and cyber-harassment, Michigan Tech offers excellent definitions of the two. Cyberstalking utilizes technological devices to stalk. It refers to a pattern of threatening or malicious behaviors, with a perceived and very credible threat of harm. Cyber-harassment usually does not involve a credible threat, but rather involves unconsented conduct, such as threatening or harassing messages via email or text, web pages or comments devoted to antagonizing an individual. These kinds of malicious cyber-related activities have highlighted how interactions have evolved between offenders and victims.
REFERENCES:
Cyber Harassment | Dean of Students | Michigan Tech. (n.d.). Michigan Technological University. https://www.mtu.edu/deanofstudents/policies-resources/intervention/cyber-harassment/
Kim, D., & Solomon, M. G. (n.d.). Fundamentals of Information Systems Security. Retrieved from https://platform.virdocs.com/read/580799/120/#/4/2