Social Activist and Literary Trailblazer Mayaa SH speaks on the increasing trends of cybersecurity risks, Impersonation and Defamatory Content.

Some sections notably women, girls and marginalised groupsare at higher risk of cyber violence, bullying, harrasy and cyberattacks just because of who they are and where in the world they are. Predominantly, the root cause of violence against women and girls is gender inequality.."

What is the extend to cybersecurity risks nowadays?

Defending against cyberthreats is a critical and ongoing process that requires a proactive and multifaceted approach. Social engineering, third-party exposure, cloud vulnerabilities, ransomware, are the top threats that organizations should focus on to protect their data, systems, and reputations. Social media platforms like X (formally Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, YouTube, Discord, and Twitch are the new arenas for discussion, community, and yes, defamation and harassment. Many platforms allow users to post anonymously which only further emboldens online impersonation, cyberstalking, blackmail, and other unlawful speech. Not all offending speech is defamation, however. An online post, tweet (or retweet), video, or comment is online defamation only if it is a (1) false statement about a specific person; (2) posted or communicated to another person (or to the internet generally); and (3) damages a person’s reputation. If you believe you have been defamed , there are several steps you can take to squarely address it, to unmask anonymous posters, and to hold them accountable. Every social media platform has terms of service which provide specific ways for users to report prohibited posts. Posts which promote violence, divulge private information such as someone’s credit card number or street address  or which are otherwise harassing violate those policies. If the offending post falls into those categories, you can report the post directly to the platform (after you preserve the post). Reporting the post is the quickest path to its removal. If the nature of the online defamation is sufficiently extreme, then a letter to the defamer (from a law firm) possibly followed by a lawsuit may be appropriate.

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