Unfortunately, we live in a world where the knowledge we learn is used against each other. Although Cyber Security was started by Bob Thomas in 1971, now we are seeing the outcome of the internet. Woefully, women who are the beauty of this life are experiencing cyberbullying. Why would cybersecurity choose women as victims? According to the article Security Information, written by Bocetta, “Although an estimated 90% of cybersecurity experts are men, staying safe online begins with good password management.” (Bocetta, 2020, p.1) Men use their cyber knowledge to conduct cyber-attacks against women for sexual harassment; women are more likely to be targeted by stalkers and, sometimes, the attacker’s determinism issue. Implementing cybersecurity awareness classes in high school will have many advantages for the girls in high school. Implementing the cybersecurity class awareness will not allow the attackers to take advantage of the new girl generation.
On the other hand, the US government, with the help of the Department of Health and Human Services, has created a hotline for cyberbullying, and there is a website named StopBullying.gov. The US government strictly announced that cyberbullying must be reported to the local FBI. However, the US government and states have implemented many laws and policies, for instance. In California, there are penalties that cyberbullying could face, such as one to five years in jail, a misdemeanor, and or a $1,000 fine.
On the other part of the world, a country named Iraq. The first country that made law was Iraq. Unfortunately, I was trying to find an article to analyze it, and I saw an article published by the International Journal of Cyber Criminology by Iraqi students. https://cybercrimejournal.com/menuscript/index.php/cybercrimejournal/article/view/73/13
The students were discussing that there is no actual law against women cyberbullying. The Iraqi government is not living in modern life. In the meantime, the people are now ahead of the government. As an Iraqi, I heard there is a hotline for cyberbullying, and police are taking serious steps against cyberbullying individuals, yet there is no law. According to the article, more than 45% of women were victims of cyber attacks. I have advised my nieces to stay off social media, and I advised them to stay on the YouTube kids version. When I go to Iraq, I let my nieces use my phone for browsing Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Precautions that I can come up with, and once my nieces have a phone, I will share my experience with them. Professor Leigh advised that we must help our family with new technology, especially the elders and the youngest.
According to Attorney Bergman’s article, cyberbullying symptoms can be that victims will not use their devices, are unwilling to go to school or outside, are angry and depressed, avert usage of discussing social media, and change eating patterns. I believe that this topic has a parallel relation between social science and cyberbullying. Social science means the study of social life and social behavior. On the other hand, cyberbullying is defined as a type of bullying that can be seen through social media. Social science can help us understand the impact of cyberbullying, and recently, we have seen families being divided; each individual has a phone, and we do not communicate with each other. Each individual is in their room and looking at a screen for hours. We have seen bullying in study hall in school, yet cyberbullying was born not too long ago, and we are trying to analyze or find a solution. However, we can not control human behavior, but we can educate ourselves. Cyberbullying victims need to speak up and never feel guilty towards those illegal groups, and victims need to think of other women. Women must think of others, and this will help society to get rid of the cyber bullies. According to an article published by TechTarget written by Robert Sheldon, “According to their results, 36.5% of the students reported that they had been victims of cyberbullying at some point in their lives (34.1% of the boys and 38.7% of the girls).”
For women, it is difficult to speak up and share their feelings, but in the US, women are gifted that they can speak up. Third, I know it is difficult for women to speak up due to restricted culture, yet some women call the national security in Iraq and file a claim. Regardless of the outcome, the fear that cyberbullies experience when national security knocks on their door is worth it.
https://cybercrimejournal.com/menuscript/index.php/cybercrimejournal/article/view/73/13
Bergman, Matthew “Effects of Cyberbullying.” Sept. 18, 2023
Bocetta, Sam “Are women better at protecting themselves than men when it comes to cybersecurity?” July 22, 2023
Callahan, Claire “THE EFFECTS OF CYBERBULLYING ON THE WELL-BEING OF FEMALE ADOLESCENTS.” (No Date)
Sheldon, Robert “cyberbullying” ( No Date)