With digital threats on the rise, cybersecurity officials have introduced new measures to protect women, girls, and young students from digital violence.
At the finale of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s 16 Days of Activism to End Digital Violence Against Women and Girls on Wednesday evening, Manager of the Trinidad and Tobago Cyber Security Incident Response Team, Anish Bachu, highlighted steps taken in light of the government’s recent laptop distribution to Form One students.
“As part of the government’s laptop initiative for Form One students, my unit, along with the Ministry of Education, would have taken the time to train every single Form One Secondary School teacher, as well as NALIS staff across both islands, on cyber threats, on how to recognise online abuse, how to recognise issues in digital classrooms that they can then take preemptive action and nip things in the bud.”
At Wednesday’s event, the TTPS Witness Support Unit and the Special Victims Unit joined other stakeholders to raise awareness on ways in which women can safeguard themselves when using social media, highlighting some of the risks that exist in the online space.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Natasha George spoke on the prevalence of online abuse and its impact.
“Online abuse is real, violence is real, it may happen through a screen, but its impact reaches deep into lives, leading to emotional trauma, reputational damage, exclusion from public life, and even physical danger.”
WPC Sraddha Jeffers of the TTPS Cyber Crime and Social Media Unit also warned against social engineering, a tactic perpetrators use to gather weak points from their victims online to tailor scams towards them.
“This afternoon I’m here to let most of you all, and in fact everyone here, to take that responsibility, because it is your responsibility to truly protect your social media, in particular. Don’t put out your name or your address or anything that can give someone a foothold or a footstep into your personal space. Treat your social media handles as you would treat your home. You are not going to invite everyone into your home, same way think about your social media handles that way.”
She added that women and teenage girls in Trinidad and Tobago are at a higher risk of experiencing cyberbullying and cybercrimes.
According to the Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, the grooming of children is a serious offence that includes targeting a child online, building rapport with a child online, gradual desensitisation, and control, all with the intention of obtaining something from the child. It added that while the process is subtle and very difficult to detect, it requires parents and guardians to be very vigilant.