Technology Summit 2015 Agenda & Events

We're so excited to welcome attendees to our 3rd Annual Technology Summit next week in San Francisco! If you're joining us, we can't wait to meet you! If you're not joining us, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to see what we're up to. Take a look at the program book to see what's going on.

This year, we have much to discuss in the world of technology, privacy, and survivor safety. 
Earlier this year, in Elonis v. the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the conviction of Anthony Elonis, who posted threats (which he called rap lyrics) against his ex-wife on Facebook. Elonis had been convicted under the standard that a “reasonable person” would have viewed the posts as real threats. However, the Court said that something more is required, without specifying exactly what, so it is unclear how that decision will impact future cases involving online threats.

Despite our disappointment with that decision, the issue of sharing or distributing intimate images without consent (aka “revenge porn”) has seen a lot of movement. In fact, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Google have updated their policies to include banning non-consensual pornography on their sites. Currently, a federal bill addressing this issue is being discussed and debated.

For victim service programs, selecting effective technologies to support their services, using technology to reach survivors, and finding ways to hold offenders accountable for their crimes continue to be core topics. Privacy, security, safety, and survivor empowerment are part and parcel of those issues, making these very complex discussions.

We hope that by the end of the Summit, we will all leave with more tools and ideas as well as more questions and thoughts about what we can do to help survivors find safety and healing while working toward a world where violence against all people no longer exists.

If you're not able to join us, follow along on social media (#techsummit15 and #TS15QA)!

10 Steps to a More Secure Password

Today is World Password Day, and a reminder that you should change your password. Passwords are used for almost everything we do these days because, without a password, anyone can get into all your stuff: your phone, email, bank account, social media, etc. 

Here are some tips on how to create a secure password:

1. Pick a password that will be hard for someone else to guess.

2. Use different passwords for different accounts.

3. Best passwords are longer than 8 characters and contain numbers and symbols.

4. Keep your passwords simple, so you can remember it. 

5. Share your password with no one. 

6. Use 2-step verification/authentication (where you use your password as well as a code that's sent to your phone or email). 

7. Uncheck the “remember me” or “keep me logged in” feature. 

8. Always remember to log off. 

9. Change your password often (today, for instance, on World Password Day!).

10. Be strategic with secret questions and answers.

For more explanation on these tips, check out our handout on Password: Simple Ways to Increase Your Security.  

A Glimpse From the Field: How Abusers Are Misusing Technology

The Safety Net Project recently surveyed victim service providers on the misuse of technology by abusers. Of the programs surveyed, 97 percent reported that the survivors they are working with experience harassment, monitoring, and threats by abusers through the misuse of technology.

Abusers in intimate partner violence misuse technology in many ways: to stalk and monitor victims, to harass victims through the “anonymity” of the technology, and to impersonate victims through technology, such as creating false social media accounts. The survey found that 79 percent of programs reported that abusers monitor survivors’ social media accounts, 74 percent report that abusers check victims by text messages, and 71 percent report that abusers scrutinize survivors’ computer activities.

Using technology to facilitate harassment of the victim is a major tactic by abusers, according to the reporting programs. Abusers harassing survivors via text messaging was reported by 96 percent of programs, while 86 percent reported that abusers harass victims through social media.

Of the type of technology misused by offenders, social media, text messaging, and email were the top three. It is not unusual that these three technologies should be reported the most abused by offenders. Abusers seek to disrupt and interrupt survivors’ lives. Stalkers gather information and monitor victims’ activities based on where they are and what they are doing. According to Pew Research Internet Project, 74 percent of adults who are online use a social networking site of some kind and 81 percent of adult cell phone owners send and receive text messages.

In fact, nearly all (99%) the responding programs reported that Facebook is the most misused social media platform by abusers. This finding is not shocking. Facebook is a platform in which abusers and survivors both engage in. With over 1.2 billion monthly active users, Facebook is a key place for offenders to access information about victims or harass the victim by directly messaging the victim or the victim’s friends and family. An advocate wrote: “Facebook is the hardest for survivors to shut down or avoid because they use it to keep in contact with other friends and family.”       

Respondents to the survey also stated how difficult it is to “prove” that an abuser is behind the abuse. “Officers and state attorneys are saying that anyone could have posted those comments and pictures on Facebook, so proving in court that the abuser is doing it is very difficult,” noted one advocate.  Advocates and survivors find it frustrating when they are told that it is impossible to trace harassing text messages or emails back to the perpetrator.

”A Glimpse From the Field” was conducted by the National Network to End Domestic Violence and funded under a grant awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

Click here for a copy of the report.