You've Been Doxed

We spotlight a new form of online abuse, similar to a physical threat in your real life

- Arman Khan

I distinctly remember my friend trembling when her ex-boyfriend threatened to leak their intimate pictures, taken one innocent Spring morning by the Zandvoort beach in Amsterdam. Moreover, he wanted to share the picture with a smug caption caricaturing her dark circles.

She was used to his threats, but this was a threat like no other. Something in his tone made her shift. She thought to herself, I’ve messed up, big time. But had she? Was she really to blame?

The intersections to doxing (a cyber-attack that involves discovering the real identity of an Internet user, following which the attacker then reveals that person’s details, so others can target them with malicious attacks) are many and all of them only more sinister than the other. The psychological toll on the individual is unquantifiable. And the irreparable loss to one’s image is damning – particularly when it is a woman who has been doxed. To top it off, the search for justice in India is a road replete with bureaucratic hurdles and mental blocks.

But giving in to the narrative of the abuser is no option at all either, so how does one navigate the narrow alleys of cybersecurity while still ensuring some semblance of mental peace is retained?

THE HUMAN ANGLE

Content creator and social media influencer, Srishti Dixit considers herself fortunate than her peers, in more ways than one.

“For starters,” she says, “I do not receive the kind of hate other comics and content creators do. Mostly because they are far braver than I could ever be.”