ANDl Spanish Computer Crime Observatory (Oedi) detected since Alicante province new forms of gender-based violence through the use of new technologies. Using online banking applications or Artificial intelligence systems to clone victims’ voices According to Oedi sources, these are two new variants that started to be detected this year and whose numbers are increasing. A study supported by University of Alicante and Generalitat Valenciana states: a 74.4% of young Valencian women have experienced any form of digital gender violence online platforms or social networks. UA’s study cited above shows that: The phone number for Victim Assistance is 016 In almost 80 percent of cases, it was the source they knew best.
points Early Attention to Oedi Victims (ATV) they currently have Nearly 220 cases related to digital gender violence were filed this year. A total of 200 of these are victims residing in the province of Alicante, while the remaining twenty are victims displaced from other autonomous communities (Basque Country and Zaragoza) because these are unusual cases (such as hacking or monitoring) and research the experience of these units for this type of crime. “Some of them have clearly flown in from their destination to ask us to take care of them,” the newspaper assured. computer analyst and head of these offices Salvador Samper. According to him, the volume of data opened from the office in this province is significant enough to make the authorities pay attention to them, and the activity tends to be increasingly larger.
just last yearThe increase in ATV service was 40 percent compared to 2022. “Reports increased by 30%, while data extraction from devices and cloud increased by 35%. Participation increased by more than 40% and phone engagement increased by more than 30%. “Their rise does not stop and there has already been an incredible rise in 2022,” he said.
One of the new crime methods identified in the first half of this year is electronic banking applications Violence or domination and control against women. «The victim himself often experiences these situations. economic violence», Samper explained to this newspaper. These were cases where women were controlled by practices. In some cases, the victim is impersonated in digital banking applications activity in accounts behind you. In other cases, this has been a path. Check out where they are and what they are buying. They found that in some cases the woman had contracted a holiday package to give him a gift and when she accessed the app she believed it was an act of infidelity.
The problem victims face is when they present themselves to the bank They could not access the data on the devices from which their accounts were accessed. «It’s not just about controlling the laptop anymore. “There is an updated version of this violence, whereby economic activity is controlled,” Samper explained. These violations of privacy have occurred so frequently that victims are forced to flee their homes, while others continue to keep the enemy in their homes.
lack of evidence
When accessing this online account history, it is common for technical data to show “a phone number that coincidentally does not belong to the victim and belongs to a phone company that overlaps with the former partner’s number.” When through court IP identification requestedThe owner coincidentally is his former partner. Samper asked, “What’s your ex-partner doing getting into the account?” he explained. Without these stepsthere would be no digital evidence of these intrusionsbut he assured that “this is a right that victims have.”
This was a situation that these offices encountered very regularly in the first half of this year. account given thirty cases this year. Victims needed documentation to prove break-insbut banks did not give. «He was unable to access his own data to prove that his former partner had accessed the data. This is your own data and You can’t reach it, it’s a contradiction“, She pointed out. This is a situation that is a way of re-victimizing women.
From these points where the victim is assisted, the full cooperation of the banking institutions is brought to the fore as soon as the identified problem is explained to them. «They act quickly and carefully and respect for the victims,” said Samper. In this way, there are already banks «They responded immediately by sending a circularThis way, if a victim requests such data, they can access it.
However, in the last months of the year, thanks to new technologies, another type of crime is also detected in these offices. Women warning that their ex-partners were raped audio files with your voice With sentences they never said. from beginning to end artificial intelligence, They had managed to clone their voices to make them say whatever they wanted. Some records intended to be presented as evidence in judicial proceedings.
sound manipulation
“We detected some cases last year and in the first months of this year. However, these were crude manipulations of very metallic and easily detectable sounds.»Samper explained. Applications are perfected and detected between October and December sounds so perfect Without technical tools it is very difficult to distinguish whether this is real or manipulation. Warning that this would create excitement in judicial investigations regarding gender-based violence, Samper said, “Victims are calling us because they do not know where this voice may come from.” “Any audio that reaches the court will need to be accompanied by an expert report that will analyze whether there is manipulation,” he said. HE Almendralejo caseIt has already been announced that such a situation may arise, where several minors recreate fake nude images of their acquaintances using artificial intelligence.
UA study
The internet is the scene of all kinds of violence against women. According to a study by the University of Alicante, the most common crimes are: sexist or misogynistic comments (44.4%); insulting or abusive comments (41.9%) Inappropriate, humiliating, intimidating or offensive advances on social media (39.1%); Sexually inappropriate emails, WhatsApp messages or text messages of a disturbing and frightening nature (36.8%) and Offensive or threatening messages via email, text, and instant messages (33.6%).
The data shows that depending on the prevalence of digital gender violence, almost 9 out of 10 young people, or 87.8%, have witnessed or experienced one or more situations from this kind of violence. 82.3% of young men have witnessed at least one incident of digital gender violence, and just over 8 in 10 young women, or 80.4%, have experienced digital gender violence at some point in their lives.
For this analysis performDirected by Alejandra Hernández-Ruiz and Romina Curone-Prieto. The researchers, Iolanda Tortajada and Cilia Willem from the University of Alicante, Rovira i Virgili, and Inmaculada J. Martínez from the University of Murcia, conducted the following: More than 1,100 online surveys for boys and girls aged 18 to 35 Qualitative analysis of community residents and reporting mechanisms of 17 platforms between March and April 2023.
Psychological effects
The most common psychological consequences among female victims of VGD were: anxiety, loss of self-esteem, and suffering; Feelings of anger, anguish and fear prevailed among the witnesses. Regarding the consequences of other types among both female victims and witnesses, we found that the three main consequences are: network account deletion, social isolation and abandonment, or loss of motivation for leisure, sports or other activities. . JAM
The research shows that when female victims are faced with a situation of digital gender-based violence, they often tend to block it and, to a lesser extent, report it to the company that manages the website or the social network itself. Additionally, female victims preferred: Seek help from family, friends or psychological professionals. In this sense, just over 9 in 10 female victims of digital gender violence suffered psychological consequences. “Among the witnesses, this rate dropped to 75.3%,” says one of the report’s authors Director and director of the Gender Studies Research Institute at UA University, Alejandra Hernández-Ruiz. The most common psychological consequences in the victims were anxiety, loss of self-confidence and suffering, while in the witnesses, feelings of anger, suffering and fear prevailed.
Regarding corporate action against digital gender violence, “016 was the most well-known organisation; almost 8 in 10 people expressed knowledge about it,” the UA researcher said. Regarding the three forms of intervention greater usefulness perceived by survey respondents educating young people about mutual respect, punishing attackers and the 016 phone number. “On the other hand, a clear majority of 8 out of 10 people believe that awareness campaigns against gender-based violence in the digital environment have helped raise awareness of the problem,” he adds.
Finally, “Although some platforms have various policies and regulations, they appear to be few in number. Additionally, measures against digital gender violence are implemented if the victim has already been subjected to aggression or harassment. Twitch “This allows you to protect yourself against this type of live content,” warns Hernández-Ruiz.
unknown persons
On digital violence couple relationships6 out of 10 young people denied being in pain. However, it was determined that the most common forms of violence among those exposed to this violence were anger at not being able to intervene immediately, checking social networks and having to chat with someone else.
However, after asking female victims about the identity of their attacker, they mostly mentioned individuals who were unknown, not personally known, or known only online. Relatively anonymous and male attackers. Although the weight of previous partners and business or co-workers cannot be ignored.
Women in case of VGD victims tended to mostly block and to a lesser extent report either to the company that manages the website or to the social network itself. Additionally, female victims preferred to seek help from friends, family and psychological experts.