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File a criminal complaint

Once you have the log files from your server from which it could be seen that your website was targeted with a cyber incident, e.g. unauthorised access, you can file a criminal complaint to the police or competent prosecutor. 

When preparing a complaint, make sure you mapped and described the events during the incident as they happened (what behaviour with the site did you notice, at what time, were there any changes you weren’t aware of), prepared the server logs and other useful information, such as screenshots of suspicious activities.

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LIBEL AND HUMILIATION

Bad language, swearing and use of a disrespectful tone that degrade personal dignity, reputation and/or status in society. Pictures, videos, memes and gifs can also be utilised to inflict humiliation/shame. 

Criminal charges detailing the assault, and any evidence (hard copy) must be officially filed with the police, referencing the criminal offense - in this case art. 170 of the Criminal Code. Note that the entire procedure as well as identification of the perpetrator is the responsibility of the filing party, given the designation of this criminal charge as a private offence. 

ADVICE: try not to respond to the statements/acts of libel and humiliation, as these responses could ultimately be used against you in court. 

Also, thoroughly assess the situation before initiating a court procedure, to ensure a bad joke or harsh criticism is not being claimed as offence. If the court makes this determination, the outcome can be negative for the filing party. 

If the identity of the perpetrator is known to you, you have the option of claiming damages before a civil court, although police support cannot be relied upon in this type of proceeding. A civil case can be initiated via lawsuit, and if the court finds in your favor, it results in monetary settlement.

Assessment of risk is a useful way to evaluate a potential offence - when it happened, why and from whom? For example, if you post an article on a sensitive societal issue, this tool can help with risk management, to evaluate  which groups or individuals may react negatively. It is important not to internalize  or normalize these types of offences. 

Choose a response that will help you feel safe and decrease the possibility of further harm, document  (or ask family and friends to) all acts of libel/humiliation, and learn more about digital safety, mechanisms for semi-functional protection on social media platforms.

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THREATS

Endangering physical and emotional safety and wellbeing by calling for violence against a particular person or group of people, including threats of rape and other forms of gender-based violence.
 

Threat is a serious form of assault and one that should be urgently addressed to best prevent it from being realized in the physical world. Report each and every threat to the police and the public prosecutor. 

As threats often cause fear and insecurity, art. 138 of the Criminal Code - Endangering safety - provides a suitable legal basis for initiating mechanisms of protection. 

 In this case, public prosecutors and police are mandated to follow up, investigate and responsible for protection. As the filing party, you are responsible for collecting evidence  needed for filing the criminal charges. This charge is especially relevant for (female) journalists, as this charge provides for a higher sanction. 

ADVICE: Explain in detail how, why and when you feel unsafe, and detail your concern for the safety of your family and loved ones. These details could be the key to success when it comes to court proceedings.

In addition to reporting threats to police and digital platforms, inform your employer and document them

If you can, protect your mental health by taking a break from social media platforms, especially those spaces that can cause additional stress or fear for your safety. Create a network of support to help take over some of the work documenting the threats. Again, prioritize your physical safety above all else and If you ever feel that the online violence you’re experiencing, might transition into the physical world, call the police → immediately! 

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STALKING

The process of diligently and continually following someone’s activity online. The designation of stalking can be applied whether or not the stalker and target know one another in person.  Digital traces, data and other markers of our participation that show up on social media platforms and other websites have made stalking in the digital age a much easier task. As much as in the physical world, consequences on the targeted individual can vary, but could include an increased sense of insecurity, fear and the perception of an invasion of privacy.

Stalking, in the Criminal Code, is identified as a criminal offence (art. 138a), carrying that sanctions for not only the act of stalking but also for unlawful collection of someone else’s personal data, as a preliminary offence, prior to the instance(s) of stalking. However, the article does stipulate that to constitute stalking, the incident(s) must take place for a specified period of time. The intensity of stalking, and consequences felt by the target are not of critical relevance, but could be taken into account by the court during criminal proceedings.

If the incidence(s) of stalking fail to meet the time stipulates laid out in the Criminal Code art. 138a, then article 138 - Endangering safety - could also offer protections against acts that result in fear for one’s safety, and provides stricter sanctions if the target is a (female) journalist.  

In this case, public prosecutors and police are mandated to follow up, investigate and responsible for protection. As the filing party, you are responsible for collecting evidence needed for filing the criminal charges. 

It is easier than ever to conduct private surveillance of public digital spaces using a number of different methods. For this reason, it is important to ensure that your tech-devices (phones, computers, smart speakers/doorbells, etc) and check if options (e.g. location, privacy settings) are best protected (turning off location tracking, strict privacy setting) and limited in their ability to share private data. 

As with all types of assault, targets of stalking should inform friends, family, partners and colleagues about the harassment, so you have a bigger network of support. If online stalking moves offline, to the physical world, you should immediately inform police and request protection. 

Check out these resources for improving your digital safety.

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IDENTITY MANIPULATION

Identity manipulation or misuse of personal data is a serious threat with potentially far-reaching consequences. Whether the target is a person whose personal data has been misused, or someone else, the damage can be incalculable.

Due to the complexity and different manifestations of this category of assault, it is difficult to determine the legal basis offering the most suitable protection. In the case of fraud committed using the computer belonging to another person, and resulting in material or financial gain for the perpetrator, a criminal complaint may be filed under art. 301 (Computer Fraud).  Another criminal offense, the unauthorized collection of personal data (art. 146), must be initiated via private lawsuit, and therefore the identity of the perpetrator must be known.  

If a case of identity manipulation leads to psychological harm, or damage to reputation or dignity, then compensation may be claimed using civil legal procedures. Before initiating this type of lawsuit, the identity of the perpetrator as well as evidence substantiating the claim of identity manipulation and resulting harm must be provided.

 

Identity manipulation is often tied to financial fraud and online theft. There are different ways you can protect yourself from these crimes: limit the amount of money that can be transferred to another account, or taken out via ATM at one time, use at least a two-factor authentication system for your finance-related logins, and destroy old bank and other identity cards with sensitive data. 

If you are a victim of identity manipulation, inform the police as soon as possible, notify the financial institutions or websites where you have accounts and temporarily block compromised bank accounts and/or cards. 

Timely risk assessment and digital hygiene are important means of  prevention and protection.

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Report to the police

In cases of online harassment or other forms of violations of personal rights (e.g. endangering security with threats) it is possible to report these incidents to the police or other state authority in charge of investigating or prosecuting cybercrime , as they can present criminal acts which are punishable by law. 

To see best practices for gathering digital evidence before filing a complaint, see the “File a complaint” section.

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File a complaint

When you are filing a complaint to the police, it is important for you to gather all the necessary digital evidence  and not only to copy the content of the message in question. It is often not simple, as it requires technical knowledge and patience, for which few people upset by the attack can have nerves. If you can't deal with it, call a friend, colleague or family member for help. They can also record evidence of an attack, but also deal with your account on the platform on which the attack is taking place. The documentation should contain material evidence of the attack and be classified so as to facilitate the search. Using a spreadsheet can be convenient, as attacks can be sorted by time, location, cause, duration and type of attack, reports filed on the platform, and response. This is all important information for lawyers, police, further investigation and court proceedings. Try to identify the type of attack, because some forms of online threats are still unknown to the general public, and sometimes even to the police. This will help the investigators to better understand what happened and how to look for the perpetrators.

First, you should provide relevant links or URL addresses in their integral form, i.e. if the attack occurs on social media, then you should provide an integral link of the account which sent you a threat. Then, you should save a copy of the message in an integral form containing metadata, i.e. email headers

Furthermore, it would be good to make a screenshot/print-screen of the message, image or a video included in the incident. On the other hand, if there are several segments of the incidents - you are facing-multiple SMS-s, messages received via an application on a computer or phone, etc. - you should make a screenshot of each one or possibly make a video of the entire process. 

In addition, if the harassment occurs through phone communication, then the report should contain call logs issued by the phone operator because they contain the time of the call and the number from which the call was made, which may make further investigation easier. Also, you can turn to a Computer Emergency Response Team in your country, which may provide technical support and mitigate the damage, or state bodies in charge of investigating cybercrime

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DOXXING

Publicly disclosing personal information about a target, such as home address, familial status, bank and credit card details, date of birth etc. This information can be posted on one or many different platforms, in comment sections, or via video or text. 

Regardless whether or not disclosed data is utilised for harassment, the unauthorized posting of data alone, qualifies as doxxing, and is viewed as a type of online attack. As is often the case, when doxxing creates an imminent danger to safety, art. 138 of the Criminal Code - Endangering safety - could provide legal protection. In this case, public prosecutors and police are mandated to follow up, investigate and responsible for protection. As the filing party, you are responsible for collecting evidence  needed for filing the criminal charges. This charge provides stricter sanctions if the target is a (female) journalist.

ADVICE: Explain in detail how, why and when you feel unsafe, and detail your concern for the safety of your family and loved ones. These details could be the key to success when it comes to court proceedings.

Art. 146 of the Criminal Code, Unauthorised Collection of Personal Data, which prohibits the collection, publication and use of data for purposes “other than those for which they are intended”, could provide the basis for legal protection. 

Document every instance and location in which your personal data was posted, and file this evidence with the police.

Immediately report doxxing and any other unauthorised publication of personal data to the websites or platforms where it was posted, and to the police. 

Follow-up on your report to better ensure they respond.  Immediate action is key to prevent further distribution of your personal information online.

Turn off location tracking options on your phone, Google maps, and other applications that collect your sensitive data (location, key address, etc). 

Put strict privacy controls on your social media profiles, and two-step authentication  systems for all website logins storing your sensitive data. 

Talk to the people you trust - colleagues, friends, employers. Urge the police to alert the platform to remove your personal data, and use website and platform reporting mechanisms. 
Deleteme is a tool that can help find and remove sensitive data online.

If you ever feel that the online violence you’re experiencing, might transition into the physical world, call the police → immediately. 

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RETALIATION AGAINST SUPPORTERS

Friends, family, partners, colleagues, employers, and other witnesses to the abuse, can be  targeted in the same or similar way as the original target. 

Retaliation can take many forms, so it can be linked to different criminal offences. If the assault results in the endangerment of safety, art. 138 of the Criminal Code  could provide a suitable legal basis for protection. In this case, public prosecutors and police are mandated to follow up, investigate and responsible for protection. As the filing party, you are responsible for collecting evidence  needed for filing the criminal charges. This charge provides stricter sanctions if the target is a (female) journalist.

ADVICE: Explain in detail how, why and when you feel unsafe, and detail your concern for the safety of your family and loved ones. These details could be the key to success when it comes to court proceedings.

Assess as to if the assault could be qualified as offence, threat, harassment, doxxing, false accusation or another form of digital assault. Identifying the type of assault based on charges set out in the Criminal Code can increase your chances of success in accessing legal protections.

In addition to the many mechanisms of protection, a useful strategy for countering an assault is to publicly call out and condemn an attack without directly identifying or naming the perpetrator. If you opt for this tactic, assess the risk and continue to document  problematic responses, especially  if they are defamatory in nature. Surround yourself with friends, family and colleagues:  safety is in numbers.

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