How Can Parents Protect Children From Doxxing?

Doxxing cannot be taken for granted. This process is a cyber crime of sorts. It involves a person finding and leaking personal information about someone else through the online world. Among the details leaked are names and addresses. What makes issues worse is that this process isn’t even illegal.

However, doing is considered a form of online harassment. This can take a serious turn. Parents should take measures to protect their kids from doing. Yes it is necessary because if they’re using online gaming, chat, and social forums then their information is at risk.

Doxxing – what is it?

A person getting doxxed is one whose personal information got leaked out online. Usually, that personal information consists of a real name, a picture, and an address. Doxxing is a common threat in the online world. It can reveal private details of users thus putting them in danger.

There is an alarming situation. Children are doing each other but in moderate amounts. It is either a prank that is underestimated or a form of harassment. Cyberbullies may also use the threat of doing against kids. They can start blackmailing them to make them do something stupid. Doxxers are most likely to be strangers, a point of immense concern.

Are the victims aware of the Doxxer being a stranger?

Many recent victims of doxxing were not aware of the doxxer. Instead, they might have had a social media post go viral, or they might probably be well-known in a group, social circle, or video game.

At times, the doxxer can be triggered by a difference of opinion on a certain topic (it can also happen on a sensitive topic). That sensitive topic could be related to political views or another thing.

However, the reasons for doxxing attacks are wide and many. In fact, doxing can involve anyone who can dig deep enough to find personal information on someone. That information is something that they can certainly leak out.

How dangerous is doxxing?

The most concerning threat after a person has been doxxed is swatting. It involves a person looking for a person’s information who then calls law enforcement. They provide an anonymous tip saying that they’re either an imminent threat or a wanted criminal.

Given the number of incidents happening both in Europe and the United States, law enforcement agencies are forced to take such kind of accusations seriously. The outcome hasn’t been very rosy. There have been numerous cases of special units swarming and storming the locations. In some instances, innocent people have endured harm.

For either a child or a teenager, having their information leaked out online could force them into experiencing an unbearable amount of harassment.

A bully who they know either in person or online, can use doxxing. The bully can use it as a platform for giving other people access to the child’s phone number, email, or other crucial contact information. This information is used as a means of putting more harassment and bullying against the child/teenager.

The negative effects of Doxxing

Because of Doxxing, There are students who have experienced disruption to their education. This disruption is due to strangers sending in large volumes of phone calls, emails, or messages to their educational institution.

Likewise, doxxing has caused a lot of employees to get terminated from their jobs due to false complaints and reports being lodged against them. This resulted in many companies paying affected employees heavy restitution and settling heavy damages.

How to protect kids from doxxing?

How can parents protect their kids from Doxxing? And how can employees protect themselves? Experts from cybersecurity firms providing the best DDoS protection services advise parents to have an open discussion with their children. They need to know what can happen if their personal information gets leaked online. This is why they need to practice proper cyber protection methods.

For example, parents need to tell them what kind of information is safe to share. They should also tell them the kind of information they should never share regardless of circumstances.

If children are allowed to use social media, they should be reminded that setting a picture or posting it private does not protect them from cyber criminals. Apart from data breaches and accounts getting hacked, anyone with access to their page can save and even share the information without them knowing. They also may not have bad intentions for this.

However, for those kids who have been targeted by bullies in real life, protecting them from doxxing can be challenging. Their real-life friends are likely to know their address, phone number, and the like. This information can sadly end up in the wrong hands, especially if friends are not practicing proper cyber security and online privacy measures. Here are some proven tips to keep kids safe:

Checking what kids are doing exactly online.

Checking the online profiles and information of children.

Reminding them that in case something goes wrong, they can always turn to their parents for help.